Madrid: Spanish tax authorities have given their okay for football superstar Cristiano Ronaldo to pay close to 19 million euros ($22 million) to settle a tax fraud claim, prosecutors said Friday.

Prosecutors in Madrid said the deal with tax authorities and Ronaldo’s advisors also includes a two-year jail sentence which he won’t serve. Sentences of up to two years are generally not implemented in Spain for first-time offenders in non-violent crimes.

The 33-year-old former Real Madrid striker, who has moved to Juventus, appeared in court last July near Madrid to answer four counts of tax evasion.

Prosecutors allege the five-time Ballon d’Or winner hid income generated in Spain from his image rights from tax authorities. He is alleged to have used companies in low-tax foreign jurisdictions -- notably the British Virgin Islands and Ireland -- to avoid having to pay the tax otherwise due.

The football star will be required to pay the 3.2-million-euro fine plus the 5.7 million euros in back taxes, 1 million euros in accrued interest and 250 euros-per-day for the 48 months covering the prison sentence.

His legal team had blamed the affair on a simple different interpretation of which revenue he was obliged to declare in Spain. Had the case gone further, without the player offering a full settlement, he could have faced a fine of a reported 28 millions euros.

Agencies