Ex-Chelsea star, Diego Costa sentenced to six months in jail for tax offences

Diego Costa has been sentenced to six months in jail for tax offences but will pay a £32,000 fine to avoid serving the time. The ex-Chelsea striker pleaded guilty to an offence which occurred in 2014 – the year he left Atletico for Chelsea. According to reports in Spain, the 31-year-old avoided paying £980,000 in tax – which he paid back last year – by not declaring payments of around £4.6million. He is also said to have concealed image rights payments of around £890k. The Spanish Tax Agency said Costa defrauded them out of taxes and also charged him with a separate financial offence in the 2013 financial year. Costa initially refuted the claims but reconsidered his original stance and reached an agreement with Spanish authorities which was confirmed in court today. According to Spanish outlet El Mundo Deportivo the Spaniard asked Atletico to pay the fine for him but the club refused. But they are said to have given him an advance on his wages so he could afford to pay. 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with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn.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.” In Spain, sentences of less than two years in prison can be swapped for a fine of £32,610. Costa will pay this on top of the £485,500 fine issued by the court for the crime. Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi have fallen foul of Spanish tax law in the past.