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Earlier this week, an international team of journalists dubbed the European Investigative Collaborations (EIC) consortium received from the website Football Leaks close to eighteen million leaked documents detailing contract information for many of the world’s top footballers and coaches.

Among those affected were Real Madrid’s Portuguese winger Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United’s head coach Jose Mourinho.

According to the leaked documents, both Ronaldo and Mourinho allegedly moved millions of Euros in earnings to offshore accounts in the British Virgin Islands, failing to pay tax on these amounts.

One of the documents claims that in 2014 Ronaldo transferred close to 64 million Euros in sponsorship fees to the BVI via a couple of Irish companies in an effort to avoid changes to a Spanish tax law that benefitted the footballer.

More specifically, Spanish newspaper El Mundo alleges that the Real Madrid star, despite making close to 165 million Euros from his work in advertisement, “in principle only paid €5.6 million directly to Spanish tax authorities, less than 4 percent of the total amount.”

The Spanish tax agency’s employee union Gestha urged tax authorities in the country to seek a criminal case against Ronaldo, a move that could cost the Portuguese footballer “as much as €600,000 for each of the three years” and potentially up to six years in jail if it’s proved he used tax havens to stash away his money.

Likewise, Jose Mourinho, while coaching Real Madrid from 2010 to 2013, moved approximately 12 million Euros to a bank account in Switzerland that belongs to a company registered in the Caribbean islands.

Their mutual agent Gestifute issued a statement following the leak, asserting, “both Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho are fully compliant with their tax obligations with the Spanish and British tax authorities.”

"Any insinuation or accusation made to Cristiano Ronaldo or Jose Mourinho over the commission of a tax offence will be reported to the legal authorities and prosecuted," Gestifute added.

Real Madrid also came out in defense of their star player.

In a statement to the press, the Spanish football giant said, “In view of the stories published over recent days and in consideration of the certificate issued by the Spanish Tax Agency which confirms that our player Cristiano Ronaldo is up to date with all of his tax obligations, Real Madrid C. F. call for the utmost respect to be shown towards Cristiano Ronaldo, whose conduct has been absolutely exemplary throughout all of his time at our club.”

Additionally, Jose Mourinho told the press, “I have lodged the documents in Italy, Spain and England. I have nothing to hide. They prove that I have done nothing wrong.”

Meg Hillier, chair of the public accounts committee in the UK, wants Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs (HMRC) to look into these allegations versus Mourinho.

“These revelations are extraordinary and warrant a close examination by the UK tax authorities,” said Hillier in a statement earlier this week.

Gag Order Sought on Football Leaks

Following the leak, Spanish Judge Arturo Zamarriego is looking for a gag order on the European journalists who disclosed the information, claiming, according to AFP, that these “constitute an offence against the right to privacy as they were allegedly obtained through a cyber-attack on Senn Ferrero, a firm advising sports personalities on tax.”

More specifically, the injunction requested by the Spanish judge aims to "paralyse and/or ban the publication, whether in printed or digital versions, of confidential information of a personal, financial, fiscal and/or legal nature of clients of Senn Ferrero, which the European Investigative Collaborations consortium of journalists could have had access to."

Tax Activists Speak Out on Football Leaks & Tax Avoidance

As usual, tax activists have come out in full force to demand greater transparency from tax havens and a stronger push by governments throughout the globe to end tax avoidance and evasion.

Susana Ruiz, tax policy expert for Oxfam’s Even It Up Campaign, said, "When football superstars avoid paying their fair share of tax, those least able to afford it  - including many of their fans - end up paying the price. Tax dodging hits the poorest people in our societies hardest, as governments cut funding for vital public services and increase the tax bills of ordinary people to compensate for falling revenues.”

"Governments need to show tax dodgers the red card if they are to end poverty and inequality.  They must ensure all countries - especially tax havens – publish information on who owns registered shell companies so it’s harder for the super-rich to hide their wealth away. Governments must also compile a global blacklist of tax havens and take action to shut them down,” she added.