Juventus has been ordered to pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.
The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.
The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.
Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 percent.
According to the rankings, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.
Ronaldo played for Juventus from 2018-21, helping the club to two Serie A titles.
Former Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and the entire club board resigned in 2023 amid an investigation into false accounting — which then resulted in a 10-point penalty for Juventus in Serie A and a ban by UEFA from Europe for this season.
Ronaldo now plays for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia.
Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.
No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.
Meanwhile Juventus said it is reviewing a decision made by an arbitration court.
“The arbitration board … ascertained the validity of [Ronaldo’s] compensation reduction agreement in relation to the 2020/21 sporting season,” Juventus said in a statement sent to Reuters.
The arbitration tribunal ruled Juve had to pay half of the sum requested by the 39-year-old Portugal striker.
“They partially granted the request made by [Ronaldo], ascertaining Juventus’ pre-contractual liability resulting from the failure of negotiations and ordered the defendant to pay an amount of approximately Euro 9.8 million,” Juve said.
“The Company, also with the support of its legal counsel, is reviewing the decision made by the arbitration board, reserving all assessments and initiatives to preserve its rights.”
Ronaldo joined Juventus in August 2018 and helped them to two consecutive Serie A titles, an Italian Cup and two Super Cups, before leaving Italy to join Manchester United in 2021.