Former Liverpool star Xabi Alonso will go on trial on Wednesday in Madrid for alleged tax fraud.
The midfield maestro is facing a five-year prison sentence and £3.6million (€4m) fine if convicted.
Alonso, who won the Champions League in his first season with Liverpool, has been charged with three counts of tax fraud state prosecutors say he committed between 2010 and 2012.
The 37-year-old has consistently protested his innocence and is the only one of a long list of footballers accused of tax fraud in Spain who has decided to go to trial instead of paying the Spanish Treasury the tax it is claiming plus fines.
Alonso’s two financial advisers, who state prosecutors also want jailed for five years if found guilty, will also be tried.
The two-day trial, due to start on Wednesday morning at Madrid’s Provincial Court, was initially scheduled for January 22.
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