Ronaldo, the well-known Portuguese footballer, is set to receive 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages from Juventus for the 2020-21 season, as declared by the Italian courts on Wednesday.
Following Ronaldo’s appeal to the Court of Arbitration, it directed Juventus Turin to pay a total of 9,774,166.66 euros, along with interest and procedural expenses, as outlined in its ruling.
The awarded amount represents the disparity between the actual salary Ronaldo was paid and the amount he was supposed to receive after tax deductions and other withholdings.
Having spent three seasons with Juventus in Italy from 2018 to 2021, Ronaldo then moved to Manchester United in 2021-22 and subsequently joined the Saudi club Al Nassr. Initially seeking 19.5 million euros, Ronaldo’s claim was halved following the arbitration panel’s decision.
When contacted by AFP, Juventus chose not to provide a comment at the moment but assured that a statement will be released shortly.
Forbes’ rankings identified Ronaldo, a five-time Ballon d’Or recipient, as the highest-earning athlete globally in 2023, with a total income of $136 million, including $46 million from his wages.
As a stock exchange-listed entity, Juventus had declared losses of 123.7 million euros for the financial year 2022-23 ending in June, as disclosed in October.
At present, Italian football’s highly successful Juventus, currently holding the third position in Serie A, has not made any allocation in its financial records for the settlement of this salary back payment.
AFP