A Madrid court has sentenced Cristiano Ronaldo, a star forward of Juventus and Portugal's national soccer team, to 23 months of suspended prison term and a fine of over 19 million euros (some $21.6 million) for tax evasion, the court's press service told Sputnik Tuesday.

Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo signed a deal to settle a criminal case over tax evasion, accepting a fine and the suspended jail term in Madrid on Tuesday.

The footballer was found guilty of concealing about 5.7 million euros of income tax from 2011 to 2014, while he was playing for Real Madrid.

The verdict comes after El Mundo reported earlier that Ronaldo could have diverted over $160 million to tax havens to hide money from the Spanish tax authorities.

In 2017, the football star denied accusations that he was hiding income via a business enterprise between 2011 and 2014.