Cristiano Ronaldo Appears In Court On Tax Charges

Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has appeared at a Spanish court where he is facing allegations he evaded millions in tax.He appeared this morning.Prosecutors accuse Ronaldo of evading €14.7m

($17.3m; £13.1m) in tax.The Real Madrid star, 32, has previously denied the allegations, saying his "conscience is clear".Ronaldo is the latest in a string of footballers to be pursued by the Spanish tax authorities.Argentina's Lionel Messi, who plays for Barcelona, was handed a 21-month prison sentence after being found guilty of the same charge last year.Earlier this month, the court ruled he could pay €252,000 in place of jail time.However, Messi was only accused of evading €4.1m in tax, €10.6m less than Ronaldo.Ronaldo spent an hour-and-a-half giving evidence to judges at a court in the Madrid suburb of Pozuelo de Alarcon.Immediately after his pre-trial hearing, he left without saying a word o journalists.