Cristiano Ronaldo last played a match for Juventus on August 22, 2021, shortly before he completed a transfer back to former club Manchester United.
The Portugal star was twice a league champion during his time in Italy, but his relationship with the club soured towards the end of this period, and they chose to sell him to the Red Devils when it became clear he would not be prepared to extend his contract.
However, Juve were recently ordered to pay Ronaldo a not-insignificant amount of money. A legal dispute between the two parties reached a resolution on April 17, 2024, with the Bianconeri losing their argument against the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s representatives. The club have since decided to challenge the ruling.
The Sporting News looks at the details of the case and why Juve were told to pay their former player in the region of €10 million.
Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus lawsuit explained: Why Serie A club were ordered to pay nearly €10 million
It was announced on April 17, 2024 that the legal case between Juventus and Ronaldo had been settled in the player’s favour. As a result, Juve were ordered to pay the Portuguese €9,774,166.66 in total.
However, on May 23, Fabrizio Romano reported that Juve would be challenging the decision.
So, what’s it all about?
It all stems from wages that were deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Juve’s first-team players agreed to defer four months’ worth of wages at the height of the global health crisis, when football was suspended in Europe and then resumed without spectators allowed in stadiums. These measures saw clubs across the world lose huge amounts of revenue, so they sometimes came to agreements to offset those costs by delaying certain payments, such as player salaries.
The agreement with the club, as Tuttosport outlined, was for three months of those deferred wages to be repaid to players over the coming seasons. However, Juventus argued that, in Ronaldo’s case, they didn’t have to. The club said that, as part of Ronaldo’s transfer to Manchester United in August 2021, he signed an agreement stating that Juve had no further financial obligations towards him. Juve felt that deal superseded their previous commitment to repaying those deferred wages. Ronaldo’s lawyers argued that that was not legally correct, and the official ruling agreed with them.
The judgement from the arbitration panel in Milan said, as per Tuttosport, that Juve did indeed have a “pre-contractual liability” and were guilty of “contributory negligence” towards Ronaldo. They were therefore ordered to pay the sum due, plus interest. Juventus have not yet commented on the ruling or stated whether they might appeal.
This is not the first case of its kind between Juve and a player seeking unpaid sums relating to these “salary manoeuvres”. Paulo Dybala opened a case against the club to recoup around €3.7m last year.
When did Cristiano Ronaldo sign for Juventus?
Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid on July 10, 2018, in a transfer worth €112 million. He signed a four-year contract.
It was a record deal for a player over the age of 30 and the most expensive signing ever made by an Italian club.
Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus goals, trophies, record
Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 134 games for Juventus in all competitions from the beginning of 2018/19 until his move back to United in 2022.
The forward’s personal output in terms of goals was predictably impressive — he was twice named Serie A Footballer of the Year and won the Italian league’s top-scorer prize in 2020/21 — but he could not deliver the level of team success that had been hoped for when he signed.
Juve won two Serie A titles, two Supercoppa Italian trophies, and the Coppa Italia while Ronaldo was at the club, but they were unable win the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 1996.
Cristiano Ronaldo net worth, salary at Al Nassr
According to Forbes, as of 2023, Ronaldo’s net worth was $136 million.
As one of global football’s most famous names, Ronaldo earns significant sums from commercial agreements with the likes of Nike, while his CR7 brand of clothing, lifestyle goods, and hotels and gyms further bolsters his income.
-sportingnews
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