Juventus Ordered to Pay Ronaldo €9.7m Unpaid Wages

The Italian courts declared on Wednesday that Juventus will have to pay Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo 10.4 million euros ($9.7 million) in arrears for the 2020–21 campaign.

As per the ruling of the Court of Arbitration, which Ronaldo had appealed to, Juventus Turin has been ordered to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros, together with interest and procedural expenses.

The amount is equivalent to the discrepancy between Ronaldo’s actual salary and his expected compensation after taxes and other deductions.

Before joining Manchester United (2021–22) and subsequently the Saudi team Al Nassr, Ronaldo played three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018–21). He was asking 19.5 million euros, but the arbitration tribunal cut it by 50%.

Ronaldo originally demanded a back payment of €19.5 million, but the Court of arbitration recognized that both parties had contributed to the situation and decided to award €9,774,166.66 in addition to late payment interest and legal fees.

Ronaldo left Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018. In 134 games, he scored 101 goals, and the team won five domestic trophies, including the Serie A in 2019 and 2020.

Juventus told AFP that a statement would be released “shortly” but declined to speak further.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner made $136 million in 2023, including $46 million in salary, to rank as the highest-paid sportsman in the world. This is according to rankings compiled by the American business magazine Forbes.

Juventus, a publicly traded company, disclosed in October that it had lost 123.7 million euros during the fiscal year 2022–2023 that ended at the end of June.