Cristiano Ronaldo arrives at the court in Madrid on prior to pleading guilty for tax fraud. The Juventus forward arrived in a black van, walked up some stairs leading to the court house and stopped to sign an autograph. The charges stem from his days at Real Madrid. (AP)

January 24th, 12:50am January 23rd, 7:50pm APArticles

MADRID — With a guilty plea and a huge fine, Cristiano Ronaldo finally put an end to his tax ordeal in Spain.

Nearly four years after an investigation was opened, Ronaldo appeared at a court in Madrid on Tuesday to plead guilty to tax fraud and agree to a fine of nearly 19 million euros ($21.6 million).

The Juventus forward, who was facing charges stemming from his days at Real Madrid, spent about 45 minutes in court to sign the agreement.

He was also given a two-year suspended sentence.

Ronaldo will not have to serve time in prison because judges in Spain can suspend sentences for two years or less for first-time offenders.

The Portugal star smiled broadly after leaving court despite the unwanted trip back to Madrid, where he played until last summer.

“It’s done,” he said briefly as he walked past some of the hundreds of journalists outside the courthouse.

He later posted a photo on Twitter of himself smiling while apparently taking a selfie inside an airplane.

The picture was accompanied by emoticons that included a “thumbs-up.”

Ronaldo arrived in court in a black van and was wearing sunglasses, a black sports coat, black pants and white tennis shoes.

He stopped to sign an autograph before walking up some stairs leading to the courthouse.

He was accompanied by his lawyers and his partner, Georgina Rodriguez. Police officers escorted him.