Uli Hoeness, president of European football champions Bayern Munich, has admitted in court to defrauding Germany's tax authorities of 18m euros (£15m; $25m), reports BBC News. The former World Cup-winning German international footballer kept the funds in a secret Swiss bank account.
He told the court he deeply regretted "my wrongdoing".
"I will do everything necessary to ensure that this depressing chapter for me is closed," he said.
The penalty for tax evasion can be 10 years in jail, though the prosecution says it will seek a seven-year sentence. A verdict is expected on Thursday.
He is charged with not declaring 33,526,614 euros in tax returns from 2004 to 2009 in income on which he should have paid 3,545,939 euros and 70 cents.
