Cristiano Ronaldo 'being investigated by Spanish authorities' as details emerge
Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly being investigated by Spanish authorities
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Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly under investigation from Spanish authorities over hair transplant clinics he co-owns.
The Portugal international has built an empire off the field, as well as on it, helping him accumulate a net worth of around £409million.
According to Catalan outlet Sport, some of the Insparya Medical Clinic hair transplant clinics he co-owns are now being investigated by Spanish authorities.
It's claimed the country's Tax Agency have looked into the business after the clinics issued several invoices without VAT from 2019 to 2021 to hundreds of clients.
Cristiano Ronaldo started to co-own the hair transplant clinics during his time at Juventus
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Spain's treasury says the transplants are 'purely for aesthetic purposes' and must consequently have VAT included in the price.
Bank statements and cash payments are some of the things supposedly being looked at by tax investigators - as well as an anonymised list of payments.
The file for the probe was opened in February 2022 with the hearing process commencing in May of this year.
However, fighting their cause, Insparya says alopecia and hair loss is a disease.
And they argue their business is exempt from VAT because the treatment they offer is a 'medical service of diagnosis, prevention, treatment and cure'.
The clinics insist they have complied with all rules and regulations and done nothing wrong.
As part of their defence, they have also delivered a report from the World Health Organisation.
It includes the opinion of a doctor who specialises in dermatology, with the report reading: “It is not questionable that the treatment of the disease of alopecia leads to an aesthetic improvement in a large part of the patients subjected to said treatment, but the objective of this treatment is not only aesthetic but also medical, such as the placement of a prosthesis to a patient who has lost a limb.”
Ronaldo started his business venture during his time with Juventus.
He joined the club back in 2018 after opting to leave Real Madrid behind for a new challenge elsewhere.
Ronaldo also owns several other businesses, too.
He owns a fitness venture, appropriately named CR7 Fitness, in Portugal.
The 38-year-old co-owns Italian restaurant TOTO with tennis star Rafael Nadal and basketball player Paul Gasol.
Ronaldo confirmed earlier this year that he had plans to branch out with the restaurant, with the current hub based in Madrid.
The Al-Nassr star started his own clothing company that manufactures underwear all the way back in 2013.
And he's also the owner of hotel chain Pestana Hotels.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo recently seemed to hit out at the decision to give Lionel Messi an eighth Ballon d'Or award.
The gong was won by his long-term rival following Argentina's World Cup triumph in Qatar last year.
Spanish journalist Tomas Roncero took to social media and posted a video online shortly after Messi's win and said: "Hello friends.
"What we knew happened, they were going to give Messi another Ballon d'Or again.
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"He went to retire in Miami, even though he already looked like he was retired at PSG preparing for the World Cup.
"He won the World Cup, yes, good, but with six penalties... The World Cup was ten months ago, it's November.
"Messi has eight Ballon d'Ors, he should have had five.
"He has Iniesta/Xavi's Ballon d'Or, Lewandowski's who won six trophies in one season and Haaland's who was the top scorer."
And Ronaldo then reacted to the video with four laughing emojis.