Case closed: Ronaldo keeps €10m with court ruling against Juventus in wage dispute

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, a court in Turin upheld the previous ruling that Juventus must pay Ronaldo around €10 million in unpaid wages. The club will also have to cover the legal costs of the case.

The dispute dates back to 2021, when Ronaldo left Juventus to return to Manchester United. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Juventus reached an agreement with players to temporarily cut wages as the club faced a sharp drop in revenue. In Ronaldo’s case, there was a written agreement to defer €19.5 million in gross salary.

However, that amount was never paid to Ronaldo after his departure, and it was not recorded in Juventus’ financial statements. In September 2023, Ronaldo took legal action against the club to recover the unpaid wages.

In 2024, the court ruled that Juventus had to pay at least half of the amount, roughly €10 million. Juventus appealed the decision, but the court has now confirmed that the club “has no right to reclaim the funds from Ronaldo”. Juventus are expected to review the ruling to decide whether there are any remaining legal options.

Ronaldo joined Juventus in 2018 after leaving Real Madrid in a €100 million transfer. During his three seasons in Turin, he helped the club win two Serie A titles in 2018/19 and 2019/20. He scored 101 goals in 134 appearances and remained one of the team’s key players despite being in his mid-30s.

Since Ronaldo’s departure, Juventus have struggled to regain their former dominance. They have not won Serie A since 2020, with clubs such as Inter Milan, AC Milan and Napoli taking control of the league. This season, Juventus sit fifth in Serie A with 39 points, three points behind Roma and 10 points adrift of leaders Inter Milan.

Juventus will face Benfica in the Champions League next on 22 January, before returning to Serie A to play third-placed Napoli.