An arbitration court in Italy has awarded Portuguese football ace and Al Nassr forward Cristiano Ronaldo a total of £8.3 million (approximately Ksh1,372,180,070) after he won a case against his former club Juventus.

Ronaldo took Juventus to court for unpaid wages during the COVID-19 pandemic. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner and other players had agreed to defer their salaries for four months following an agreement with the club, as Juventus was struggling financially at the time.

The Portuguese forward wanted to be paid £17 million (KSH 2,811,380,829.30), the net amount that he was promised by the club when he agreed to defer his wages during the Covid lockdown.

The court found out that Juventus failed to disclose the deferred wages on their financial statements. Also, the tribunal’s report adds that Juventus never had a budget set aside for this money.

In their decision, they also found out that both Ronaldo and the club share responsibility and decided to award the Al Nassr star half the amount of the deferred wages.

Cristiano left Juventus in August 2021 after spending three seasons at the club, where he scored 101 goals in 134 appearances in black and white.

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 £2.6 million ($3.2 million) in owed wages.

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.

Meanwhile, the 38-year-old continues to elongate that Greatest Of All Time (GOAT) debate despite not having the World Cup in his trophy cabinet.

The 39-year-old now has more hattrick goals compared to his longtime rival, World Cup winner Lionel Messi who has 57 compared to Ronaldo’s 65.

Ronaldo netted a first half hattrick which included two free kicks as his club Al Nassr thrashed Abha 8-0 in the Saudi Pro League becoming the top scorer in the league also achieving the 65th treble of his career.

After the classical performance, Ronaldo took to social media indicating that he is not slowing down.

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