Investigators found Ronaldo and Juventus’ secret document worth €20m

According to La Gazzetta Dello Sport, investigators have found a ‘secret document’ signed by Juventus and Cristiano Ronaldo where the club promised their ex-forward €20m despite announcing salary adjustments during the peak of the COVID pandemic.

Juventus are under investigation for false accounting and false communications to the market. The Serie A giants are suspected of having falsified their balance sheets for 2019, 2020 and 2021 and 16 of their directors and chiefs – including President Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved – are under investigation, as confirmed by the Turin prosecutor on Monday.

This is not all as investigators are trying to prove that Juventus players didn’t really give up on four months’ wages during the peak of the COVID pandemic in March 2020, but still received payments for three months after signing private documents with the Serie A giants.

Guardia Di Finanza, Italy’s Financial Police, have been searching for private agreements between the club and players, including Cristiano Ronaldo.

A reference to a ‘famous document that should not have theoretically existed’ emerged from wiretaps of Juventus directors this past December and according to Gazzetta, investigators have now found a document signed by Ronaldo and the club.

According to the report, Juventus promised Ronaldo to pay €19.9m even if he left the club. The Turin Prosecutor believes the payment agreed by the two parties was not regularly registered in Juventus’ financial statement.

La Stampa reported on Monday that the Manchester United forward was asked to clarify his position, but refused to talk to the Turin Prosecutor.

Juventus had been cleared of accusation by the Sporting Justice earlier this year and clarified in a statement on Tuesday that the ‘salary reductions agreed with footballers in March 2020 would have been negotiated once competitions resumed and stadiums were reopened.’