Samir Nasri contests €5.51 million tax demand from French authorities
Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri is contesting a €5.51 million (£4.80 million) tax demand from French authorities, who claim he has been living in France rather than Dubai, where he is officially registered as a resident, reports BritPanorama.
The 38-year-old retired footballer maintains that his primary residence is in the United Arab Emirates, a jurisdiction with no income tax. However, French tax inspectors argue that he resides in Paris, citing evidence that includes 212 food delivery orders placed through Deliveroo to a Paris address throughout 2022.
Investigators have examined flight records indicating that Nasri spent 487 days in France from 2021 to 2023, compared to just 226 in the UAE. A detailed annual breakdown shows he spent between 126 and 208 days in France, while his time in the Emirates ranged from 42 to 124 days. Officials are also scrutinizing his professional ties to France, noting an agreement with pay-television broadcaster Canal+ for him to appear as a football analyst on 40 to 45 programmes during the 2021-22 season.
The Paris criminal court has granted tax officials permission to freeze Nasri’s accounts at the prestigious Edmond de Rothschild bank. Inspectors are pursuing €5.25 million (£4.57 million) in unpaid income tax for the years 2020 to 2022, alongside €82,000 (£71,000) in property tax from 2019 to 2025. This measure includes a judicial mortgage on one of the three properties he owns in the French capital.
Fiscal lawyers have labelled the decision to freeze bank accounts and threaten property seizures as “exceptional” at this stage, noting that tax authorities must demonstrate Nasri’s residency in France and that his income is generated there. Nasri’s lawyer, Jean-Noël Sanchez, is challenging the seizure ruling, describing the €5.5 million figure as “imaginary.” Sanchez insists that Nasri “is a perfect French citizen” who properly declares his earnings and pays tax on income generated in France.
Sanchez emphasized that Nasri lives in Dubai with his partner and son, who attends school there. He expressed frustration at what he sees as an unjust assumption of guilt, exemplified by the Deliveroo evidence, questioning whether Nasri himself was responsible for the orders, asking whether they could have been placed by family members or friends.
In a case that underscores the complexities of international taxation for high-profile athletes, Nasri’s situation highlights ongoing tensions regarding residency and tax responsibilities, particularly for those with ties to multiple jurisdictions. The outcome could set a precedent for similar cases involving expatriates engaged in global careers.
