Juventus’ long-running dispute with Cristiano Ronaldo has entered another legal phase, keeping open a case that reaches back to the club’s Covid-era salary arrangements and the Portuguese forward’s final months in Turin. The club has lodged an appeal with Italy’s Court of Cassation after earlier rulings awarded Ronaldo €9.8 million, plus interest and indexation.
A dispute rooted in the pandemic years
The case concerns a deferred-payment agreement linked to the period in which Juventus and their players addressed the financial consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic. Ronaldo left Juventus for Manchester United in 2021, but the issue of unpaid salary obligations did not leave with him.
- During the pandemic period, Juventus reached agreements with players over the suspension or apparent waiver of several monthly salary payments.
- In 2021, Juventus executives and Ronaldo agreed a document later known as the “Ronaldo card”, covering roughly €19.5 million in outstanding gross salary.
- The document became significant in the Turin investigation into Juventus’ former leadership, an affair that led to Andrea Agnelli and the previous board resigning.
- The €19.5 million was not entered in the club’s accounts, while Ronaldo received no payment before his move back to Manchester United.
- During the Prisma investigation, an intercepted conversation between Juventus legal chief Cesare Gabasio and then sporting director Federico Cherubini referred to the written agreement as something that “in theory should not exist”.
The document was recovered on 23 March 2022 during a search of the Turin office of lawyer Federico Restano. Ronaldo then brought his claim against Juventus in September 2023.
Arbitration produced a partial award
Because the document did not carry Ronaldo’s signature, the parties agreed to settle the dispute through arbitration rather than proceed immediately through the ordinary courts.
- On 17 April 2024, the arbitration panel of Gianroberto Villa, Leonardo Cantamessa and Roberto Sacchi ruled by majority in Ronaldo’s favour.
- The panel awarded €9.8 million, rather than the approximately €19.6 million sought by the player, together with interest and monetary revaluation.
- The arbitrators did not find that Juventus had intended to deceive Ronaldo.
- They also noted that Ronaldo had not pursued the payment when he departed Italy in 2021.
Juventus challenged that ruling, but the Turin Labour Court, led by judge Gian Luca Robaldo, rejected the club’s position in January 2026. The court’s review was confined to the alleged formal defects in the arbitration award and did not reconsider the underlying merits of the dispute.
Juventus take the case to the Court of Cassation
In their 2025-26 financial report, Juventus said they had now appealed to the Court of Cassation. The appeal was formally served on 27 March 2026, and a hearing date has yet to be set.
The club stressed that the Turin decision did not alter the conclusions already reached in arbitration. Juventus also said the financial consequences of the award had been reflected in its accounts since the 2023-24 financial year, meaning it does not expect a negative effect on either the current accounts or future balance sheets.
For Juventus, the issue remains an administrative and legal inheritance from an unsettled period in the club’s recent history. For Ronaldo, it is a claim that has already been recognised twice, although only for half of the amount initially requested. The final judicial chapter now depends on the timetable of the Court of Cassation.
