Jose Mourinho, the Manchester United manager, has released a statement after he was accused of using offshore accounts to avoid paying tax on millions of pounds in earnings.

The allegations emerged last weekend after The European Investigative Collaborations consortium, which includes several European media organisations, published findings from two terabytes of leaked information which they had obtained.

It was claimed that Mourinho had moved large sums of money earned through image rights and product endorsements to a tax haven in the British Virgin Islands and that the 53-year-old coach had misled British and Spanish tax authorities.

Cristiano Ronaldo, who played under Mourinho at Real Madrid, was also accused of moving money to the British Virgin Islands in, what The Sunday Times called, “highly aggressive tax avoidance”.

A statement on the official website of Gestifute, a sports agency which represents both Mourinho and Ronaldo, published a statement titled ‘Statement from Jose Mourinho’ on Tuesday night.

It read: “Mr. Jose Mourinho, who lived in Spain from June 2010 to May 2013, paid more than 26 million euros in taxes, with an average tax rate of over 41 per cent.”



“As he stated last week, the Spanish government, through its Tax Agency, has certified that he is up to date on his tax obligations.”

On Saturday, following the publication of the allegations against Mourinho and Ronaldo, Gestifute denied any wrongdoing by their clients.

World's highest paid footballers Show all 10 1 /10 World's highest paid footballers World's highest paid footballers 10. Sergio Aguero (Manchester City, £240,000 p/w) Aguero famously won the league title for Manchester City at the end of his first season in 2012 and inspired his club to another Premier League title in 2014. He is the highest-scoring South American in Premier League history. Getty World's highest paid footballers 9. Zlatan Ibrahimovic (Manchester United, £250,000 p/w) The Swedish striker has won 13 league titles in 15 seasons in European football and recently scored the Premier League’s 25,000th goal. Getty World's highest paid footballers 8. Wayne Rooney (Manchester United, £260,000 p/w) England’s all-time leading goalscorer, Rooney has won a whole host of awards in his career to date and needs just three goals to overtake Bobby Charlton as his club side’s record marksman. Getty World's highest paid footballers 7. Graziano Pelle (Shandong Luneng, £260,000 p/w) Pelle moved to Shandong in July this year from Southampton, where he spent a relatively successful two years after making his name at Feyenoord. World's highest paid footballers 6. Paul Pogba (Manchester United, £290,000 p/w) The world’s most expensive player was bought back by Manchester United four years after they sold him to Juventus, where he developed into a world-class midfielder. Getty World's highest paid footballers 5. Neymar (Barcelona, £305,000 p/w) At just 24 years old, the Brazilian has won almost everything there is to win in the game, with only the World Cup missing from his CV. Getty World's highest paid footballers 4. Hulk (Shanghai SIPG, £320,000 p/w) The powerful forward made his name at Porto before moving on to Zenit St Petersburg and this year he joined the influx to the ever-growing Chinese league to play under then-manager Sven Goran Eriksson. Getty World's highest paid footballers 3. Lionel Messi (Barcelona, £336,000 p/w) The five-time Ballon D’Or winner has broken endless records since his Barcelona debut in 2004, winning La Liga eight times and the Champions League on four occasions. Getty World's highest paid footballers 2. Gareth Bale (Real Madrid, £350,000) The former Tottenham winger is arguably Britain’s greatest ever export, having helped his side to two Champions League titles in three seasons since his arrival in Spain in 2013. Getty World's highest paid footballers 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid, £365,000 p/w) The Portuguese forward is the all-time leading scorer for both club and country and recently captained Portugal to victory in Euro 2016. Getty

A statement by the sports agency said: “Both Cristiano Ronaldo and José Mourinho are fully compliant with their tax obligations with the Spanish and British tax authorities.

“Neither Cristiano Ronaldo nor José Mourinho have ever been involved in legal proceedings regarding the commission of a tax offence.

“Any insinuation or accusation made to Cristiano Ronaldo or José Mourinho over the commission of a tax offence will be reported to the legal authorities and prosecuted.”