Cristiano Ronaldo is reportedly ready to demand Juventus repay him for £16.2m of wages that he agreed to defer during the Covid pandemic – just weeks after agreeing to leave Manchester United for free.
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The Portuguese star tore up his contract at Old Trafford in November and forfeited around £12m of wages in the six months that were left on his £500,000-per-week deal.
The 37-year-old is now a free agent after being allowed to leave United on a free, after his public falling out with Erik ten Hag over his shocking Piers Morgan interview.
He has already been linked with mega-money moves to Saudi Arabia, with Al Nassr ready to offer him a two-year deal worth up to £344m – which would make him football’s highest-paid player in history.
Ronaldo agreed not to pursue a pay-off from his deal after it was suggested the club could have pursued legal action for a breach of contract, with the player attacking some members of the club’s hierarchy.
But as a way of reclaiming some of his lost earnings, reports in Italy claim he is set to demand that he is compensated the full amount in unpaid wages that he deferred during the pandemic.
At the time, Juventus were forced to cut their wage bill as the Serie A season was interrupted by the global virus.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, Ronaldo wants Juventus to pay him the £16.2m (€19.9m) fee that he agreed with Juventus chiefs back in 2020. He had agreed to take a pay cut, but their secret deal guaranteed him a one-off payment later down the line, even if he left Turin.
The Portuguese star has even recruited a team of lawyers to ‘examine the situation’ before deciding whether to pursue claiming the amount he is allegedly owed.
Juventus sporting director Federico Cherubini spoke about the money owed to Ronaldo when speaking to former president Andrea Agnelli in late August 2021, saying: “€19m from the previous year and €9m from a year earlier, so €28m before taxes due to COVID.”
