Former Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been sentenced to six months in prison for tax fraud in Spain – but the Atletico Madrid ace will pay 36,000 Euros fine to avoid any jail time.
Spanish outlet El Mundo report the Brazilian forward pleaded guilty to a tax offence amounting to 1.1m Euros.
He is accused of defrauding the state of more than £900,000 by not declaring payments of more than 5.15m Euros (£4.63m) after his move to Chelsea in 2014.
The tax agency denounced Costa for defrauding the authorities regarding 1m Euros (£890,000) in image rights.
The Spanish treasury added another fiscal crime to Costa before withdrawing and halving the fine.
Costa is said to have asked Atletico to pay the fee, which they refused.However, they did give the striker an advance on his wages, meaning he could pay the fine in full.The fee is said to be around 500,000 Euros (£450,000).