Football Leaks: Jorge Mendes’ Gestifute denies Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho tax avoidance allegations

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Jose Mourinho and Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes has denied that his clients have taken part in a tax avoidance scheme involving more than £100m.

The Real Madrid star and Manchester United manager were accused, along with other renowned players, of potentially improper transactions and moving earnings from image rights to the British Virgin Islands by a pan-European consortium of investigative journalists.

Consisting of journalists from Germany's Der Spiegel, Spain's El Mundo, the UK's Sunday Times and the Netherlands' NRC, European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) claim to have access to two terabytes worth of leaked information including 18m documents and a promising to release further stories based on the data in the coming weeks.

Read more: Ronaldo pips Messi to world's highest-paid athlete mantle

Gestifute, Mendes' company, have denied the allegations and claim EIC sent it inquiries that were "insidious, disrespectful, threatening".

Read more: The fall-out of Manchester United and Jose Mourinho image rights negotiations could be worth millions

It has said it will take legal action against "any insinuation or accusation of that nature" related to Ronaldo or Mourinho.

Gestifute's response:
  • "Both Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho are fully compliant with their tax obligations with the Spanish and British tax authorities."
  • "Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor Jose Mourinho have ever been involved in legal proceedings regarding the commission of a tax offence."
  • "Any insinuation or accusation made to Cristiano Ronaldo or Jose Mourinho over the commission of a tax offence will be reported to the legal authorities and prosecuted."