14:50h CEST

Cristiano Ronaldo elected not to appear in front of the media after his court appearance in Madrid on Monday morning to respond to questions from a judge over an investigation into a case of alleged fraud being pursued by the Spanish tax authorities against the Real Madrid star as it had been expected he would. A written statement from the player and his lawyers is expected to be published later on Monday according to a spokesman for Gestifute, the sports agency that represents Ronaldo.

However, some comments made during the players appearance before the magistrate hearing the case, Mónica Gómez Ferrer, have been filtered to the media. AS has learned that at the outset of his hour-and-a-half long appearance, the Real Madrid player stated: If I wasnt called Cristiano Ronaldo I wouldnt be sat here.

Ronaldo judge: "You are mistaken"

Judge Gómez Ferrer replied: You are mistaken. Plenty of anonymous people have sat where you are. You are under investigation for an alleged financial crime based on the evidence provided by the public prosecutor and upon which it is my duty to make a ruling.