Juventus planning Cristiano Ronaldo sale after Porto defeat
According to Mediaset, Juventus are considering selling Cristiano Ronaldo this summer to balance the books before his contract expires in 2022.
Juventus' failure to get past the last-16 stage of the Champions League for a second consecutive season has led the board at the Serie A giants to reconsider the club’s business and sporting model. Juve’s position as the dominant domestic force has also come under threat this season with the renaissance of AC Milan and Inter and the need to balance the books in Turin could result in one of the club’s prized assets, Cristiano Ronaldo, being put up for sale this summer.
According to SportMediaset, the Juve board has recognized the need to make some changes after disappointments on the pitch in Europe over the past few seasons. “The budget is in the red and we are discussing how to address that without making too many concessions that could put the technical level of the team at risk,” the Italian media outlet quoted a Juve executive as saying.
Juventus may cash in on Ronaldo
With that in mind, a quick crunch of the numbers has led Juventus to the conclusion that the swiftest and easiest way to make up the budget deficit is to sell Ronaldo. The Portugal captain joined from Real Madid in 2018 for a fee of €100m with the goal of delivering European glory to Turin for the first time since 1995-96. With Juve having reached just one Champions League quarter-final in three seasons with Ronaldo spearheading the attack, that goal has to be considered a failure and Juve are feeling the pinch in the club’s coffers.
Ronaldo, whose contract runs until June 2022, earns €54m before tax and Juve would prefer to remove that tab from the wage bill as the club, like the world at large, adjusts to the new fiscal reality of the post-pandemic era.
With Ronaldo out of contract in a little over a year Juve are considering cashing in this summer to recoup some of their outlay on a player who will doubtless attract bids from around the world. According to the SportMediaset, a bid of €60m would be enough to get Juve to the negotiating table with PSG likely to be interested along with Manchester United, Manchester City and clubs in MLS and the Middle East, although Ronaldo has always said he would like to return to Sporting Lisbon toward the end of his career.