Juventus are waiting to see what former striker Cristiano Ronaldo will do about the €19.9 million in wages that the Bianconeri still owe him following the COVID-19 deferring of wages.
The Portuguese player appears to have the ball in his court when it comes to recovering the money from Juventus so the club are eager to see what steps he will take now that his Portugal side have been eliminated from the 2022 Qatar World Cup, losing 1-0 against Morocco in the quarter-final.
The quarrel is in relation to €19.9 million in wages from the 2020/21 season and it is the latest in a long line of financial disputes for Juventus to deal with following the resignation of the entire board.
In the spring and summer of 2020, as many as 23 Juventus players agreed to reduce their salaries over a four-month period at the club. This was thought to be to help the club navigate its way through a trying financial period.
But, it has since been alleged that the players’ salaries were paid, but in a way that would have permitted for tax payments to be avoided by both club and player and for it to seem as though Juventus’ books were balanced. Should these accusations be proven, the club would face charges of financial fraud.
Why have Juventus not paid Ronaldo already?
Ronaldo is currently a free agent having had his Manchester United contract terminated by mutual consent during the World Cup.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, the player did not respond to a summons from the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office which wants to hear from him as a person of interest in the current Prisma investigations into Juventus.
An email sent in late August from Juventus executive Vincenzo Ampolo to other Bianconeri executives contained former president Andrea Agnelli asking about Ronaldo’s wage situation.
Agnelli reportedly stressed that Ronaldo left for Manchester United without finalising his position regarding the deferred salaries during the pandemic. He then suggested not to chase the player about the issue, but wait to see what the former Real Madrid man will do in order to get his €19.9 million.
The letter signed by the players last season stipulates that, in the event that a player is not registered for Juventus on September 5th, 2021, the amount owed to the player will be paid as a redundancy incentive.
Juventus may have tried to resolve it sooner
It seems that Juventus may have actually tried to resolve the issue with Ronaldo earlier in 2022. The investigators intercepted an email from the now sporting director Federico Cherubini which mentions an appointment with Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo’s agent.
Mendes himself is believed to be owed €6.7 million from this situation, likely as a commission. Now that the World Cup is over for Ronaldo and he is currently without a club, there is a belief that he and Mendes will begin to pursue the wages.
The 37-year-old Ronaldo joined Juventus in July 2018 and then joined Manchester United in August 2021. He played 134 times for La Vecchia Signora and scored a staggering 101 goals and got 22 assists.
