Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo has been slapped with a $21.6 million fine for tax fraud in a Spanish court. However he will avoid serving a 23-month prison sentence after agreeing a deal.

The 33-year-old, who played for Real Madrid from 2009-2018, agreed to settle the case by paying an 18.8 million euro fine and accepting a suspended jail sentence.

Spanish law allows for some sentences under two years to be spent on probation, meaning Ronaldo will not serve any jail time unless he commits a further offence.

His appearance lasted a matter of minutes but brought a huge media presence to court in Madrid, with judges refusing his request to appear by video or to enter court via a back entrance.

Ronaldo had been accused of knowingly using a business structure to hide around £25m generated by his image rights in Spain between 2011 and 2014 when he played for Real Madrid.

After reaching the deal, he paid a fine of 5.7 million euros, plus interest of about 1 million euros, in July 2018, the prosecutor’s office said last week.