Spains prosecutors office in Madrid said on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit against Cristiano Ronaldo for allegedly defrauding Spanish authorities of €14.7 million between 2011 and 2014.

In a statement released on Tuesday, Madrid's regional state prosecutor accused Ronaldo, 32, of four accounts of tax fraud from 2011 to 2014.

It said the Portugal captain "took advantage of a business structure created in 2010 to hide from fiscal authorities income generated in Spain from image rights."

The statement said Ronaldo used what it deems a shell company in the Virgin Islands to "create a screen in order to hide his total income from Spain's Tax Office."

Real Madrid declined to comment and calls to the agency representing Ronaldo, Gestifute, went unanswered.

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Prosecutors alleged that Ronaldo had defrauded the tax authorities of €1.4m in 2011, €1.7m in 2012, €3.2m in 2013 and €8.5m in 2014.

Ronaldo, who is from Portugal, became a Spanish tax resident in January 2010 and in November 2011 opted to follow the Spanish tax regime that applies to foreigners working in Spain, the statement said.

Messi was ordered to pay a fine of £1.7million after being found guilty, though this was over a reported £3.19million hidden away from Spanish tax authorities.

Ronaldo’s case looks as though it could land him in deeper trouble if he too is found guilty of dodging tax through any illegal means.

Prosecutors are currently claiming that the 32-year-old has been knowingly hiding his personal income via a “business structure” created in 2010.

Ronaldo, who spent six years at Manchester United earlier in his career is one of the most successful and richest athletes on the planet after a record-breaking career at the very top level of European football.