Premier League icon denies tax dodging after police launch investigation into hundreds of Deliveroo orders

Ed Griffiths
Wed, 08 Apr 2026 08:42:53 +0000

Former Arsenal and Manchester City midfielder Samir Nasri is contesting a €5.51million (£4.80million) tax demand from French authorities, who claim he has been living in France rather than Dubai, where he is officially registered as a resident.

The 38-year-old retired footballer maintains his home is in the United Arab Emirates, which levies no income tax.

French tax inspectors, however, argue that he lives in Paris.

Court documents reveal that officials pointed to 212 food delivery orders placed through Deliveroo to a Paris address during 2022 as evidence supporting their position.

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France imposes a 45 per cent tax rate on earnings exceeding €181,917 (£158,000) annually, with additional levies of 3 per cent above €250,000 (£217,000) and 4 per cent beyond €500,000 (£435,000).

Flight records examined by investigators indicate that between 2021 and 2023, Nasri spent 487 days in France, compared with just 226 in the UAE.

The annual breakdown shows he spent between 126 and 208 days in France, whilst his time in the Emirates ranged from 42 to 124 days.

Authorities have also highlighted his professional ties to France.

The former midfielder signed an agreement with pay-television broadcaster Canal+ to appear as a football analyst on between 40 and 45 programmes during the 2021-22 season.

Additionally, court documents note that Nasri holds ownership stakes in French companies, further strengthening the case that his economic centre of life remains in his home country rather than the Gulf state.

The Paris criminal court last month granted tax officials permission to freeze Nasri's accounts held at the prestigious Edmond de Rothschild bank.

Inspectors are pursuing €5.25million (£4.57 million) in unpaid income tax covering the years 2020 to 2022, alongside €82,000 (£71,000) in property tax spanning 2019 to 2025.

The court also authorised a judicial mortgage on one of the three properties Nasri owns in the French capital.

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This legal mechanism would enable authorities to seize and sell the apartment should he fail to settle his debt.

Fiscal lawyers consulted by French financial newspaper Les Echos described the decision to freeze bank accounts and threaten property seizure as "exceptional" at such an early stage of proceedings.

They noted that tax authorities must demonstrate not only that Nasri resided in France but also that his income was generated there.

Nasri's lawyer, Jean-Noël Sanchez, is challenging the seizure ruling and has dismissed the €5.5million (£4.79 million) figure as "imaginary."

Speaking to the Associated Press, Sanchez insisted his client "is a perfect French citizen" who properly declares his earnings and pays tax on income generated in France.

The lawyer said: "The problem is that France has decided for Mr. Nasri and others, for that matter to attack all those who live in the United Arab Emirates."

Sanchez confirmed that Nasri lives in Dubai with his partner and their son, who attends school there.

He said: "He doesn't live in France. I am an angry lawyer because the principle of presumption of innocence is being attacked."

Regarding the Deliveroo evidence, Sanchez questioned whether Nasri himself actually placed the orders.

He asked: "Did his mother place orders, his sister, his brother, his friends?"