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Juventus have been ordered by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) arbitration court, to pay their former player, Cristiano Ronaldo, £8.3m in unpaid wages, plus late payment interest and legal costs. It was during the COVID-19 pandemic, when the Portuguese footballing superstar, had agreed to defer part of his wages after an agreement with Juventus during his playing tenure.
Notably, Cristiano Ronaldo had joined the Italian club from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 before playing for them until 2021. During his three years at Juventus, he made 134 appearances, scoring 101 goals and winning five domestic trophies, including two Serie A titles in 2019 and 2020.
From March 2020 to April 2021, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, some of the Juventus players had agreed to defer four months' worth of their wages, when the club was struggling financially. There were also a few individual players' agreements to the contrary were reached, wherein Cristiano Ronaldo had agreed to defer a portion of his wages with Juventus, but he wasn’t reimbursed the agreed amount in due course.
Afterwards, Cristiano Ronaldo made an initial request to get unpaid wages worth £16.7 million. But the FIGC arbitration court, comprising of Gianroberto Villa, Roberto Sacchi, and Leandro Cantamessa, ruled that Juventus, who had admitted to the non-payment, should pay £8.3m in unpaid wages, plus late payment interest and legal costs, following tax and other deductions.
In their statement about the matter, Juventus mentioned that they are carefully examining the ruling of the arbitration board along with their legal advisors. They will also take necessary measures to protect the interests of the club after thoroughly evaluating their options.