Another victory for Cristiano Ronaldo! Portuguese superstar wins legal dispute against former club Juventus over €20m in frozen wages

The Portugal international took the Serie A side to court last year over wages that were unpaid during the Covid-19 pandemic. Juventus players agreed to defer four months' worth of their salaries in March 2020 and April 2021 as the club struggled financially during that period, but agreements were struck with individual squad members, too. Ronaldo wanted to be paid £17.15m ($21.3m) in deferred wages - known as 'salary manoeuvres' - and now La Gazzetta dello Sport claim the 39-year-old has won that battle with the Italian outfit.

The Court of Arbitration has ordered Juve to pay Ronaldo what he would have earned after tax, which comes to around €9m. The report adds that Juventus never had a budget set aside for this money and it remains to be seen if other players will follow Ronaldo's lead, which would be a huge financial blow for the Old Lady. Roma forward Paulo Dybala reached an agreement in 2023 with the Turin side on the same matter, with the Argentinian receiving approximately £2.6m ($3.2m) in owed wages.

Ronaldo swapped Real Madrid for Juventus in 2018 and went on to score 101 goals in 134 appearances in all competitions. After a turbulent second stint at Manchester United, Ronaldo is now at Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr.

While Juventus will have to come to terms with this legal defeat, Ronaldo's Al-Nassr side host Al Feiha in the Saudi Pro League on Friday, followed by a trip to Al-Khaleej on April 27.