Juventus have lost an appeal to overturn a court ruling that had awarded their former striker Cristiano Ronaldo millions in owed wages, the Serie A club confirmed to ESPN.
A labour court in Turin dismissed on Monday Juve’s appeal and Ronaldo will not have to pay back the €9.75m ($11.4m) he already received, plus interest.
Moreover, Juve will have to cover all legal costs, which are around €80,000 ($86,000).
An arbitration tribunal had ruled in April 2024 that Juve had to pay half of the sum €19.5m ($20.81m) requested by the Portugal captain for outstanding wages relating to a pay cut agreed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The latest ruling will not have a negative impact on Juve’s financial performance as the amount in question had already been paid to Ronaldo and set aside in the 2023-24 budget.
Juventus can still appeal to a higher court and the club told ESPN that the club’s legal team will examine the ruling in the coming days to decide whether or not to do so.
Ronaldo, now captain of Al Nassr, joined Juventus in August 2018 and helped the club win back-to-back Serie A titles, and an Italian Cup and two Super Cups, before returning to Manchester United in August 2021.
Ronaldo’s legal team issued the following statement: «The judge dismissed all objections raised by the club and reaffirmed the correct application of civil law principles regarding pre-contractual liability and the protection of legitimate expectations.
«Ronaldo had agreed to temporarily forgo part of his salary during the pandemic, but Juventus failed to honor the agreement, violating the Portuguese champion’s trust.»
