A key figure in Juventus’ recent financial issues is five time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo, whose high profile move to Turin set in motion the problems the club currently face.
The Bianconeri paid over €117m to sign the Portuguese star from Real Madrid in July 2018, hoping the star forward would be the difference maker in their chase of the Champions League. Ronaldo would go on to score 101 goals and provide 22 assists in 134 appearances for Juventus before leaving for Manchester United for around €17m in 2021.
Andrea Agnelli and the other board of directors members at Juventus resigned on Monday, leaving the club in disarray during the mid-season break. Financial issues are the root cause of this move and hidden salary payments to players have seemingly left the club in hot water.
Last month, the Guardia Di Finanza – Italy’s financial police – found a secret document signed by Ronaldo and Juventus, which emerged thanks to wiretaps of the club’s directors. Player salaries were supposedly suspended for four months during the initial stages of the COVID pandemic, but allegedly secret deals saw them continue paying players under the table.
The hidden deal saw the club promise to pay the Portuguese star €19.9m, even if he left the club, and this was not registered in their financial statements. The Turin Public Prosecutor asked Ronaldo to clarify the situation, but the 37-year-old refused, according to a report of La Stampa in October.
The €117m acquisition of Ronaldo in 2018 also put Juventus in a difficult position financially, which may explain why they allegedly falsified their capital gains in the financial reports of 2019, 2020 and 2021. The suspicious transfers were key for helping to balance the books and the COVID pandemic only exacerbated the club’s situation, leading to Agnelli’s eventual resignation.
Not his fault but he should have stayed at Real Madrid. When leaving the best team on the earth for a pub crawlers, the writing was on the wall and it sure came true. Credit to Don Agnelli for falsifying everything and keeping it under the bonnet for that long. Serie D will be a good humbling but the 1/6 will always try this again. Third time is a charm.
Can’t blame Ronaldo. He must have been craving the Italian Supercup.
What did I say on the old format of the FI when the deal was in the offing?? I told you they couldn’t afford him, and how the deal went vs their earnings as a club. Covid ultimately helped to speed up how quickly their acts would come to light. Aw I remember the hate then but who’s laughing now?!
Yes! It was Paratici who made the decision to sign Ronaldo, paid an exorbitant amount for a 33 year old Ronaldo (when we didn’t even need him in the first place). It was the poor financial decisions made that has lead us to where we are now 🙁
101 goals in 134 games is fabulous