'Are We Murderers or What?': Cristiano Ronaldo Reveals Details of Armed Police Boat Raid
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed how armed police boarded his boat while he was on holiday last summer.
Ronaldo has been involved in a legal scandal for several months, with the Portuguese star ready to admit to four counts of tax evasion, as he seeks to resolve a dispute similar to the one that saw his fellow superstar and rival Lionel Messi handed a suspended prison sentence (later changed to a fine).
Having won both La Liga and the Champions League last summer, 33-year-old Ronaldo was relaxing after an exhausting season when police abruptly raided his boat on the Spanish island of Formentera.
Ronaldo revealed the ordeal to La Sexta (via Marca), claiming that the way he had been treated was 'annoying'.
"There are thousands of boats in Formentera and police with cameras boarded the smallest one, Cristiano Ronaldo's one," the Portugal captain began. "Are we murderers or what?
"I went up and asked 'what's going on here?'
"They had guns and cameras. It annoyed me, but what are you going to do?"
Ronaldo has reportedly offered to pay €14m to Spanish tax authorities in a bid to settle the dispute and avoid any prison sentence. Addressing the matter in the interview, the four-time Champions League winner - who reportedly wants to resolve the matter before the World Cup kicks off - remained upbeat about the eventual outcome of the case.
"The only thing that there isn't a solution for is death," he said. "Everything else has a solution.
"There are unfair things, but what are you going to do? Spain looks after me."
The Spanish Treasury have accused Ronaldo of not paying €14.7m in tax on his image rights, between 2011 and 2014. If Ronaldo's settlement offer is rejected, prosecutors could push the Real Madrid star to pay back his tax in full, as well as pay a fine of up to €100m. A prison sentence (although likely suspended) is another possibility.
