Juventus Turin will have to pay 9.7 million euros to Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo in salary arrears for the 2020-21 season, Italian justice announced on Wednesday. The College of Arbitration, seized by Ronaldo, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it indicated in its decision.
The sum corresponds to the difference between the salary actually received by “CR7” and that which he should have received after taxes and other deductions. Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) then the Saudi club al-Nassr, claimed 19.5 million euros, but the College of Arbitration reduced the amount by 50%.
Contacted by AFP, Juventus did not wish to comment, while indicating that it would publish a press release “soon”. According to the ranking established by the American economic magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was in 2023 the highest paid athlete in the world with 136 million dollars, including 46 million in salaries.
Juventus Turin, listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros during the 2022-23 financial year, ended at the end of June, it announced in October. The payment of this salary arrears is not provisioned in the accounts of the most successful club in Italian football, currently 3rd in Serie A.