Eto’o pleads guilty to £3.2m tax fraud

Emmanuel Alfred

Former Cameroon and FC Barcelona striker, Samuel Eto’o has pleaded guilty to a £3.2m tax fraud relating to his image rights while playing for Barcelona.

The four-time African footballer of the year was given a 22-month suspended prison sentence when he appeared at court in Spain on Monday and he must repay the money he owes, as well as a fine of £1.55m.

Eto’o was accused by Prosecutors of failing to declare income from the transfer of image rights between 2006 and 2009.

The 41-year-old President of the Cameroonian Football Federation is the latest in a long list of foreign players and managers to have been prosecuted for tax fraud in Spain in recent years, including Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, Jose Mourinho and Neymar.

The former striker had an illustrious career that included teams like Barcelona which he joined in 2004 at 23 as well as playing for Real Madrid, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Everton during his career, before retiring in 2019.

He appeared at the Ciudad de la Justicia court in Barcelona with his former agent Jose Maria Mesalles, who was given a 12 month suspended sentence and a fine.

The court heard that Eto’o transferred his image rights to a company based in Hungary which declared his earnings in that country, where the tax rate is one of the “lowest in Europe”.

“I admit the facts and I am going to pay what I’m due, but let it be known that I was a just a child then and that I always did what my former agent Jose Maria Mesalles, who I considered like a father, asked me to do at that time,” Eto’o told the court.

Photo Credit:Afrik.com