Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola held cash in an offshore account in Andorra during his time in charge of Barcelona in a bid to avoid paying tax in Spain, it has been claimed.
The 50-year-old is one of the most high-profile names revealed in the ‘Pandora Papers’, an investigation by the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which has seen 11.9 million leaked documents released this week.
It has been alleged that Guardiola had a current account open in Andorra until 2012, when he took advantage of a tax amnesty in Spain to regularise his finances. Until that point, he had not declared the funds held in the account to the Spanish Tax Agency.
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has been named in the ‘Pandora Papers’ investigation
It is alleged Guardiola (left) held his wages from Qatari club Al Ahli in an off-shore account
Reports in El Pais and La Sexta claim that Guardiola opened the offshore account to deposit wages from his two years playing for Al Ahli in Qatar, where he was being paid in the region of £1.7million a year from 2003 to 2005.
The now-Man City boss is reported to have set up the account through the creation of a shell company called Repox Investments, depositing his salary into the Andorran account, where he did not have to pay tax.
Guardiola’s legal advisor Lluis Orobitg has explained that the account was opened due to the ‘impossibility of obtaining a residence certificate in Qatar, where he would not have to pay tax’.
He then goes on to explain that Guardiola did not deposit the funds in Spain because they feared that, without a residency permit in Qatar, the Spanish Tax Agency ‘could object to him filing his tax returns as an expatriate when in reality he played and lived in Qatar’.
Guardiola is alleged to have kept the account open until 2012, by which time he had led Barcelona to two Champions Leagues and three LaLiga titles in Spain.
In April 2012, with the global financial crisis at its worst, the Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy approved a tax amnesty, in a bid to raise funds for the country.
It is claimed Guardiola made use of the Government’s scheme, declaring the money to the tax authorities without the worry of any punishment.
The Special Tax Declaration (DTE), was a window opened by the Government that allowed companies and citizens to bring to light their undeclared funds, which were subject to a 10 per cent levy – much lower than the rates that would have otherwise been applicable.
Guardiola was reportedly paid around £1.7m a year for his time in Qatar, from 2003 to 2005
He then moved to Barcelona, where the account stayed open while he won many trophies
Guardiola’s name was one of the most high-profile revealed in the ‘Pandora Papers’
According to El Pais and La Sexta, Guardiola used the amnesty to regularise €500,000 (£428,000). That figure corresponds to the interest earned on the money sitting in the Andorran account between 2007 and 2010.
It is reported that he did not have to pay anything on the salary he earned for his two seasons as a player in Qatar, as it fell outside of the statute of limitations.
In 2015, following criticism from a government minister in Spain, Guardiola claimed: ‘I believe that the minister [Fernandez Diaz] is slightly wrong, I have paid my taxes from the first day until the last, something that many parties cannot say.’
Sportsmail has contacted Guardiola and Manchester City for comment.
In total, the bombshell release of the Pandora Papers has revealed the secret offshore wealth of more than 300 world leaders, politicians and billionaires.
Guardiola reportedly then made use of a 2012 amnesty to pocket £428,000 in interest alone
The Spaniard is pictured in 2009 during his time at Barcelona, where he was hugely successful
The files consist of 12 million documents from 14 financial services companies in countries including the British Virgin Islands, Panama, Belize, Cyprus, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore and Switzerland.
They reveal that former British prime minister Tony Blair and his wife Cherie saved some £321,000 in stamp duty when they bought an office in London by purchasing the offshore company that owned it.
Meanwhile Russian President Mr Putin was linked to secret assets in Monaco, while an offshore company owned by his alleged lover purchased a $4.1million apartment below the principality’s casino.
In the world of sport, legendary cricketer Sachin Tendulkar was also named after being found to have set up a company in a tax haven.
Mr Tendulkar’s lawyers said his investment is legitimate and has been declared to tax authorities.