Sochi
Cristiano Ronaldo’s brilliant hat-trick for Portugal that lit up the World Cup on Friday capped one of the most extraordinary days in his remarkable career.
In the afternoon, news broke in Spain that the Portuguese superstar has agreed to pay a huge, multi-million euro fine to settle a tax fraud claim, before his goals secured a 3-3 draw against the Spanish in one of the most memorable World Cup games in recent memory.
It was Ronaldo’s last effort – a stunning, 88th-minute free-kick – that clinched a precious point for the European champions in their Group B opener against a Spain side whose line-up in Sochi featured three of his club colleagues at Real Madrid.
His long-running problems with the Spanish taxman relate to allegations that he used companies in low-tax foreign jurisdictions — notably the British Virgin Islands and Ireland — to avoid having to pay tax otherwise due.
Ronaldo has had the case hanging over him since he appeared in court last July near Madrid to answer four counts of tax evasion.
Yet it has not had any major impact on his on-field performances. In fact the effect seems to have been the opposite.
