Following his departure from Man United, Cristiano Ronaldo has consulted with his lawyers and demanded that his former club, Juventus, pay him £17 million from a secret agreement.
As a result of his explosive interview with Piers Morgan earlier this month, the Portuguese superstar mutually ended his relationship with Manchester United, prompting the demand. A quick decision on a new club is unlikely, though, because he is now focused solely on breaking numerous World Cup records for his country.
Even Real Madrid, where Ronaldo holds the record for most goals scored in a single season for a single club, has distanced themselves from a move, despite the fact that the club would benefit greatly from a sensational return for the striker. Similar to Bayern Munich, Sporting Lisbon has distanced themselves from a Ronaldo return.
The agreement over Ronaldo’s Old Trafford departure meant that he forewent the remaining seven months of wages from his original contract through the summer of 2023, meaning that he is no longer earning a wage at club level.
Ronaldo is now demanding payment from Juventus for an undisclosed agreement made during the Covid pandemic, after which he departed for United in 2021. Actually, neither the stock market nor the club’s financial records reflect the transaction.
With the resignation of president Andrea Agnelli, vice president Pavel Nedved, and managing director Maurizio Arrivabene, the entire board of Juventus resigned a week prior to Ronaldo’s demand.
The Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office is looking into the Prisma investigation, and it has been speculated that this is related to the mass resignations. Allegations of false accounting and market manipulation have reportedly involved 15 individuals at Juventus. Just last month, allegations surfaced after an audit of Juventus’ finances, and the club strongly denied any wrongdoing.
Juve have finished fourth in the Serie A the last few seasons after winning nine straight titles between 2012 and 2020. In the last three seasons of the Champions League, they have never advanced past the quarterfinals. They lost in the Champions League group stage in October and are currently third in the Italian league, behind Napoli and AC Milan.