Cristiano Ronaldo Juventus lawsuit explained: Why Serie A club must pay nearly €10 million to star after legal case

Cristiano Ronaldo last played a match for Juventus on August 22, 2021, shortly before he completed a transfer back to former club Manchester United.

The Portugal star was twice a league champion during his time in Italy, but his relationship with the club soured towards the end of this period, and they chose to sell him to the Red Devils when it became clear he would not be prepared to extend his contract.

However, it appears Juve are now going to have to pay Ronaldo a not-insignificant amount of money. A legal dispute between the two parties reached a resolution on April 17, 2024, with the Bianconeri losing their argument against the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's representatives.

The Sporting News looks at the details of the case and why Juve will have to pay their former player in the region of €10 million.

Where Cristiano Ronaldo ranks in the list of international football's top goalscorers

It was announced on April 17, 2024 that the legal case between Juventus and Ronaldo had been settled in the player's favour.

As a result, Juve were ordered to pay the Portuguese €9,774,166.66 in total.

Why? 

It all stems from wages that were deferred during the COVID-19 pandemic. Juve's first-team players agreed to defer four months' worth of wages at the height of the global health crisis, when football was suspended in Europe and then resumed without spectators allowed in stadiums. These measures saw clubs across the world lose huge amounts of revenue, so they sometimes came to agreements to offset those costs by delaying certain payments, such as player salaries.

The agreement with the club, as Tuttosport outlined, was for three months of those deferred wages to be repaid to players over the coming seasons. However, Juventus argued