Cristiano Ronaldo has emerged victorious in his long-running dispute with former employers Juventus regarding wages that initially went unpaid.
The Portuguese superstar, along with his teammates in Turin, agreed to defer certain salary payments during the COVID-19 pandemic.
He has since taken matters to court in a bid to keep £8.5 million ($11m) that was owed to him.
An Italian court has ruled in favour of Ronaldo during his latest dispute, with a ruling delivered in 2024 being upheld.
CR7 had been looking for £17million ($23m) to be transferred into his accounts, the full net amount that he had been promised by Serie A heavyweights.
Juve players agreed to delay payment of four months’ worth of salaries during lockdown, with those collective decisions being made in March 2020 and April 2021.
The Bianconeri were struggling financially at the time, as fans were prevented from attending games.
Ronaldo took legal action as the money owed to him never arrived.
Juve had failed to report those deferred wages, which had been billed as “salary manoeuvres” in their financial statements. That effectively kept money off the books.
An initial arbitration ruled that Ronaldo and Juventus must share responsibility over the matter.
It was determined that the Italian heavyweights should pay CR7 half of the amount that he was requesting.
Juve president Gianluca Ferrero revealed in November 2024 that Ronaldo had received that payment.
He said: “We paid Cristiano Ronaldo in April, there’s no need for any risk fund. We paid 50% of the amount he requested, so there’s no need for a risk fund because the amounts have been paid.”
Ferrero went on to reveal that Juve would be contesting the ruling in question, with another day in front of a judge being planned.
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He added: “We don’t agree with this ruling, which established an equal division of responsibilities, so we’ve appealed it at the Turin court.”
Juventus have been unsuccessful in that appeal to the Turin Labour Court. Judge Gian Luca Robaldo has upheld the initial ruling, meaning that the Bianconeri will be unable to recoup the funds transferred to Ronaldo.
While that represents a blow to The Old Lady of Italian football, they will not face another financial hit, as said sum was already recorded in their 2023-24 budget.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, another appeal may yet be lodged.
