Di Maria fined £1.76m and sentenced to one year in prison

Mourinho assumed the reins at Real the next season, and Spanish outlet AS has reported he'd signed on to replace Manuel Pellegrini on March 31, 2010, almost two months before Real's Champions League victory over Bayern Munich.

Argentina worldwide Di Maria is accused of failing to pay 1.3m euros to the Spanish tax authorities in 2012-2013 by giving up his image rights to companies based in tax havens, such as Panama. However, as in the United Kingdom, this is merely instructive as even should the defendant be found guilty, the judge in most cases will impose a more lenient sentence. But Spanish prosecutors stated the Real Madrid star used a shell company to hide incomes made from image rights.

However, prosecutors could seek well in advance of that 24-month cut off period in Ronaldo's case.

Ronaldo has been linked with a move away from Real Madrid after being accused of tax evasion by the Spanish authorities.

Ronaldo left United in 2009 for a then world-record fee of €100m but he has always been careful to retain a link with the club.

Will the case even get to court?

That came after Ronaldo also skipped his media duties as man of the match following Portugal's 2-2 opening-match draw with Mexico, claiming he needed to undergo treatment on a knock instead.

Less than a month after Spain's Supreme Court upheld his 21-month sentence after being convicted of tax fraud, Barcelona star Leo Messi is expected to avoid prison time.

The sentence however would most likely be of less than two years, and in Spain prison terms, offences under two years do not have to be served in custody if it is a first time offence.

It will be interesting to see where this story will lead to, but it is easy to see how such a scandal has created an effect on clubs and their transfer targets.