According to The Sun, former Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been sentenced to six months behind bars for defrauding the Spanish state of £980,000 in tax by not declaring payments of around £4.6million following his move to Chelsea from Atletico Madrid back in 2014.
The 31-year-old, who initially refused to accept the charges of tax fraud placed against him but later pleaded guilty during his trial on June 4, is also claimed to have concealed payments of £890k with respect to his image rights.
The Spanish penal code, however, allows sentences under two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a fine and Costa will only need to pay a penalty of £32,000 to avoid serving the sentence.
According to claims from Spanish outlet El Mundo Deportivo, Costa requested Atletico Madrid to pay the fine for him but they refused to do so. The Rojiblancos, though, have agreed to pay his wages in advance so that he could afford to pay the fine.
An Atletico spokesperson said on Wednesday: “Costa reached an agreement a few months ago with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn.
“This week it is expected that agreement will be ratified in court, as is mandatory.”