Cristiano Ronaldo’s legal troubles extend beyond Portugal as Juventus steps up five-year financial dispute

Cristiano Ronaldo is facing renewed legal uncertainty on two fronts, with disciplinary proceedings in Portugal unfolding alongside a long-running financial dispute involving Juventus. While the Portugal captain awaits a decision over his departure from the national team camp, his former Italian club has taken another step in a separate case that could have significant financial consequences.

The Juventus dispute has already passed through arbitration and a Turin court, with both decisions favoring Ronaldo on the central payment issue. However, the Italian club is refusing to accept the outcome and has appealed to Italy’s Court of Cassation, extending a legal battle that began after his departure in 2021.

The Italian giant confirmed in its 2025-26 financial report that it had appealed to the Court of Cassation, with the appeal formally notified on March 27, 2026. The club is now awaiting a hearing date as it challenges previous decisions requiring it to pay Ronaldo deferred wages from his final season in Turin.

The dispute centers on approximately €19.5 million ($21.7m) in wages that Ronaldo says he was promised during the COVID-19 pandemic. In April 2024, an arbitration panel ruled that Juventus should pay him €9.8 million ($10.9m), plus interest and adjustments, representing roughly half of the amount he originally claimed.

Juventus subsequently challenged the award, but the Turin Labor Court rejected its appeal in January 2026. According to La Gazzetta della Sport, the club has now taken the case to the country’s highest court of appeal, although the final outcome remains uncertain.

The story behind the ‘Ronaldo Paper’

The controversy dates back to the pandemic, when Juventus and its players discussed arrangements intended to ease the financial pressure caused by the disruption to football. A document associated with Ronaldo, widely known as the “Ronaldo Paper” or “Ronaldo card,” later emerged during the investigation into the club’s financial practices.

The document concerned deferred wages that Ronaldo says remained payable after he left Juventus for Manchester United in 2021. The club has argued that the agreement did not create an enforceable obligation, pointing to the absence of Ronaldo’s signature and maintaining that he did not formally request the money during negotiations over his departure.

The issue attracted further scrutiny during the Prisma investigation, which examined Juventus’s financial reporting and wage arrangements. The wider scandal contributed to the resignation of former president Andrea Agnelli and the club’s board of directors in 2022.

Why Ronaldo has already won twice

Ronaldo initiated legal proceedings in September 2023, and the dispute proceeded to arbitration because of questions surrounding the recovered document. The panel ruled in his favor by majority in April 2024, awarding him €9.8 million ($10.9m) rather than the approximately €19.5 million ($21.7m) he had sought.

The arbitration panel did not conclude that Juventus had deliberately deceived Ronaldo, and it noted that he had not formally demanded the payment when he left Italy. Nevertheless, the award recognized an obligation to pay the reduced amount, and the Turin Labor Court later rejected Juventus’s challenge.

The club has maintained that the subsequent court decision dealt with procedural defects rather than reassessing the underlying merits of the dispute. In its financial report, Juventus stated: “The decision was limited to a review of the formal defects in the award reported in the appeal, and is not a decision on the merits of the case.”

What does Juventus say?

Despite the continuing legal battle, Juventus has sought to reassure shareholders that the dispute will not create a new financial shock. The club says the economic effects of the arbitration award have already been reflected in its accounts since the 2023-24 financial year.

“In any case, the economic and financial effects resulting from the award have already been reflected in the Company’s accounts since the 2023–2024 financial year, and therefore no negative impacts on the current or future financial statements are expected,” the club explained.

That accounting position means Juventus does not expect the ongoing proceedings to create an additional impact on its current or future financial statements. However, the appeal leaves the underlying dispute unresolved until the Court of Cassation considers the case.