Diego Costa appeared in court in Madrid on Thursday to ratify a deal he made with Spanish prosecutors to resolve a tax fraud case against him.
According to AS, Costa was handed a six-month prison sentence, which he will not serve, and a total fine of €543,000 (£482,000) after the Atletico Madrid striker defrauded the Spanish state of more than €1m (£900,000) in 2014.
According to a court filing published last month, the 31-year-old did not declare payments of just over €5m (£4.4m) from his 2014 transfer from Atletico to Chelsea in his tax return, as well as more than €1m (£900,000) in image rights.
Spanish law allows penal sentences below two years for non-violent crimes to be exchanged for a financial penalty.
As a result, Costa has agreed to pay an additional fine of €36,500 (£32,000) on top of the €507,000 (£450,000) to avoid prison time.
“Diego 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with the prosecutor and has already paid the corresponding fine plus interest and the request for a prison sentence was withdrawn,” an Atletico spokesman said on Wednesday.
“This week it is expected that agreement will be ratified in court, as is mandatory.”
The Spanish authorities have cracked down on tax fraud by high-profile football players in recent years, including the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo and ex-Real Madrid manager Jose Mourinho. None of them served prison time, but did pay hefty fines.
Costa, a Spain international, was pictured arriving at court wearing a mask due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. He is back in training with Diego Simeone’s side as LaLiga edges towards a restart on June 11.
He returned to Atletico from Chelsea in 2017 after his goals helped the London side to two Premier League titles.
Costa has been blighted by injury problems this season and has been limited to a total of 19 appearances, managing just two goals across all competitions.
