Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho STILL under investigation by Spain's tax man .. despite saying he's paid up at Madrid court hearing

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Jose Mourinho remains under investigation by Spanish tax authorities over €3.3m (£2.94m) of unpaid contributions despite his claims that his fiscal affairs are in order.

Mourinho appeared at a private hearing on Friday morning over the tax debt accusations that cover the three years he was Real Madrid coach.

He arrived at court room number 4 in Pozuelo de Alarcón just outside of Madrid at 9.33am local time for his 10am appearance.

Jose Mourinho arrives in Madrid for a hearing into his alleged defrauding of tax authorities

The Manchester United manager was met by cameras and reporters on his way into court

Mourinho's court case comes two days before his side face rivals Chelsea at Stamford Bridge

When leaving court he said: 'I didn't reply, I didn't argue, I paid, I signed the papers,' indicating that an agreement had been reached.

But the remarks referred to the earlier settlement that is now disputed by the Public Prosecutor. And a court spokesman told AFP that Mourinho remained under official investigation.

Mourinho added: When I left Spain in 2013 I understood my situation was all in order. Two years later they got back in touch with me but I have paid and signed.'

Jorge Mendes's Gestifute agency, that represents Mourinho issued a statement issued earlier this year.

It read: 'Jose Mourinho paid more than €26 million in taxes, with an average tax rate over 41 percent, and accepted the regularisation proposals made by the Spanish tax authorities in 2015 regarding the years of 2011 and 2012 and entered into a settlement agreement regarding 2013.

The 54-year-old had previously denied the charges and said his taxes had been paid in full

Mourinho faces the microphones of reporters as he makes his way into the hearing in Madrid

'The Spanish Government issued a certificate in which it attested that he had regularised his position and was in compliance with all his tax obligations.'

Mourinho is accused of failing to declare income of €1.6 million in 2011 and €1.7 million in 2012 by receiving earnings from images rights into a web of offshore companies based in tax havens established to keep them from the attention of the Spanish tax man.

The practice is widespread and was once overlooked by authorities in Spain but when an investigation suggested Spain was missing out on up to €190m of tax there was a crack down on players and coaches.

Other players represented by the Portuguese agent Mendes have been through the same process as Mourinho. Former Real defenders Fabio Coentrao and Ricardo Carvalho, Colombian striker Radamel Falcao and Paris Saint Germain's Angel di Maria, all had to pay money back.

In July, Cristiano Ronaldo gave evidence at the same Madrid court as Mourinho, accused of evading €14.7 million from 2011 to 2014. He has also shown no signs of reaching an amicable agreement with the authorities who are currently deciding if his case will go to trial.

Mourinho, meanwhile, was mobbed by photographers and reporters on his way into and out of the hearing, which comes just two days before United face title rivals Chelsea. 

The case has threatened to disrupt United's preparations for their crucial trip to face his former side at Stamford Bridge on Sunday afternoon.

The club brought Mourinho's weekly press conference forward 24 hours from its usual slot to Thursday, while his No 2 Rui Faria and his coaching staff will oversee training while he is out of the country.

He settled a previous claim against him in 2014, paying a penalty of £1m, but prosecutors claimed in June that some of the information in that settlement was incorrect. 

Mourinho leaves court following the hearing in Madrid into his alleged defrauding of tax

His No 2 Rui Faria and his coaching staff have overseen training while he is out of the country

Mourinho responded by issuing a statement insisting that his taxes had been paid in full. It read: 'Jose Mourinho has not received any notification with regards to the news published today.

'To this date, neither the Spanish tax authorities, not the public prosecutor have contacted Jose Mourinho or his advisers who were hired for the inspection process.

'Jose Mourinho, who lived in Spain from June 2010 until May 2013, paid more than €26m (£22.7m) in taxes, with an average tax rate over 41 per cent, and accepted the regularisation proposals made by the Spanish tax authorities in 2015 regarding the years 2011 and 2012 and entering into a settlement agreement regarding 2013.'