Cristiano Ronaldo ‘wins legal battle against Juventus

Juventus have been told they must pay Cristiano Ronaldo £8.3million after losing an arbitration case to their former player, according to reports.

In September, Ronaldo – who now plays for Saudi side Al-Nassr – decided to take legal action against Juventus over unpaid wages during the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The Portuguese forward wanted to be paid £17million, the net amount that he was promised by the club when he agreed to defer his wages during lockdown.

Juventus players agreed to defer four months’ worth of their salaries in March 2020 and April 2021 as the club were struggling financially, which was never received. 

The Italian side also failed to report these deferred wages – known as ‘salary manoeuvres’ – on their financial statements. 

According to Gazetta, the arbitration tribunal, however, ruled that Ronaldo and Juventus share responsibility over the matter and ordered for the club to pay half of the deferred wages.

The 38-year-old left Juventus in August 2021 after spending three seasons at the club, where he scored 101 goals in 134 appearances in black and white. 

The veteran forward now plays for Saudi side Al-Nassr and was recently sent off for violent conduct during their 2-1 defeat against Al-Hilal. 

The 39-year-old, who was shown a yellow card in the first half for unsportsmanlike conduct, appeared to throw his elbow at Al-Hilal’s Ali Al-Bulaihi in the second half as the five-time Ballon d’Or winner attempted to take a quick throw-in. 

Al-Bulaihi subsequently dropped to the floor sparking a mele between both sets of players, with a video emerging appearing to also show Ronaldo stamp on the Al-Hilal defender. 

It remains unclear if the former Real Madrid forward made contact with the downed player.

It was a chaotic end to the match, but after tempers had dissipated, referee Mohammed Al Hoaish showed Ronaldo a red card – the eighth of his professional career and his first for Al-Nassr. 

Incensed by the decision, Ronaldo, who has scored seven times in his last four appearances in the Saudi Pro League, then seemed to raise his fist towards the official before withdrawing the action and marching from the field.