Barcelona Offence took place at Barcelona

El Mundo: Cristiano Ronaldo has diverted 150m euros to Caribbean tax haven

A Catalan court heard former Barcelona player Alexis Sanchez admit on Monday to defrauding the Spanish taxman of nearly one million euros in the years 2012 and 2013.

A total of 983,443 euros was due on income the Chilean received from image rights, but he evaded paying that tax through a Maltese company named Numidia Trading.

The current Arsenal player testified in front of the Fifth Barcelona Investigating Court from London via a video link, according to Europa Press.

Given that the player - who turned out for the Blaugrana between the summers of 2011 and 2014 - has since paid the money due, an agreement is expected to be reached that will avoid the need for a trial.

The striker is just the latest current or former Barcelona player to be accused of failing to pay taxes, after Adriano, Neymar, Lionel Messi, Javier Mascherano and Dani Alves were implicated in similar legal issues.