Alexis Sanchez avoids jail in €1m Spain tax case

Alexis Sanchez has been sentenced to 16 months in prison for committing tax fraud in Spain — but the Manchester United forward will avoid serving any jail time.

Local prosecutors’ office Fiscalia de Barcelona confirmed the 29-year-old has been handed two eight-month sentences for evading tax during his time at Barcelona.

He will not go to prison as first-time offenders avoid jail if the sentence is less than two years.

Spanish news agency EFE reports Sanchez reached an agreement, having been accused of defrauding treasury of €1m and hiding the income of images rights between 2012 and 2013.

It says the Chile forward will pay back that figure plus interest, along with a fine of €590,065, and will not receive public aid or tax incentives in Spain for two years.

Sanchez is the latest figure in football to have been chased by Spanish authorities.

Jose Mourinho, the Chilean’s manager at Old Trafford, claimed he paid all the money owed to tax authorities from his time at the helm at Real Madrid after a November court appearance in Madrid.

Lionel Messi, Angel Di Maria, and Javier Mascherano have all been convicted of tax evasion in recent years, while Cristiano Ronaldo is currently fighting tax fraud charges.

Sanchez’s representative posted a lengthy “public declaration and clarification” about the case on Twitter.

Fernando Felicevich said Sanchez’s team had come to the conclusion that “it is better to accept an unfair agreement”.

The statement posted by @ffelicevich said: “Despite having shown that Alexis has not committed any crime, we have been forced, on the recommendation of our advisors, to accept the unfair pact offered and thus alleviate the emotional, personal and economic wear and tear that endures long and tedious oral trials, where the media are used to publicly expose and judge facts of private nature.”

Meanwhile, Jesse Lingard has apologised for a “totally unacceptable” Twitter post that the midfielder claims was sent by his media team during the Munich memorial service — an explanation United are understood to accept.

Tuesday marked the 60th anniversary of the air disaster that killed 23 people as United’s plane crashed on the way back from a European Cup tie at Red Star Belgrade in 1958.

United stars past and present, along with 4,500 fans, attended a ceremony at Old Trafford to pay their respects, with the ground falling silent at 3.04pm — the time of the devastating crash 60 years earlier. But at 3.07pm, as the service continued, a reply was sent from Lingard’s official Twitter account to a message about a game of Fifa, leading to an online backlash.

The England midfielder blamed a member of his “media team” for the post — an explanation the club are understood to accept given cameras were trained on the players through the service.

United boss Jose Mourinho is reported to have spoken to Lingard about the incident and reminded him of his responsibilities.

Lingard’s statement read: “A member of my media team inadvertently replied to a tweet this afternoon on my Twitter profile during the Munich memorial service at Old Trafford.

“I was unaware as I was attending the service at the time, and don’t condone the post or the timing in anyway.

“The post has now been deleted, and I’d like to apologise for any upset caused, this is totally unacceptable and does not reflect my personality or views on this emotional day.”