Italian prosecutors probing details of Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer to Man Utd
Italian prosecutors have ordered a new search of Juventus’ accounts, including the finer points of the sale of Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United.
It’s not the first time the Turin club have found themselves under the microscope. Juve were relegated 15 years ago after the Calciopoli scandal broke out ahead of the 2006 World Cup. They were found to be at the centre of the investigations which found their managing director Luciano Maggi guilty of influencing referee appointments and referees.
He was also found guilty of exerting his influence over players and other clubs.
It left a sour taste in the mouth of Italian football. And now the club have revealed they are under investigation once more.
And now the Serie A side have been presented with a search and seizure order. It means the Italian authorities are picking through their business accounts. And the sale of Ronaldo to United forms part of an ongoing investigation into alleged false accounting.
A Juventus statement read: “The club announce they have received the notification of a new search and seizure order relating to the ongoing investigations by the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Turin against the club and some of its current (Andrea Agnelli, Pavel Nedved, Stefano Cerrato and Cesare Gabasio) and previous representatives.
“As already disclosed, the company is cooperating with the investigators and with Consob and trusts to clarify any aspect of interest to it as it believes to have acted in compliance with the laws and regulations governing the preparation of financial reports, in accordance with accounting principles and in line with the international practice in the football industry and market conditions.”
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Nedved under scrutiny in Ronaldo deal
Turin prosecutors said last week they were investigating the club. Chairman Andrea Agnelli and vice president Pavel Nedved were under investigation. And now Juve have confirmed that the process now includes “permanent sales on the balance sheet as of 30, June 2021, relating to the economic values of the sale of the player Dos Santos Aveiro Cristiano Ronaldo”.
Juve agreed the €14m sale of Ronaldo to United in August, with the deal including a further €8m in bonuses.
The Turin-based club said at the time that they had suffered a €14m capital loss on the deal. That had contributed to record-high loss of €210m for the 2020/21 financial year.
The club do not believe the new probe and the searches constituted a “material adverse change”.
It’s unclear whether United will be asked to give their account of any dealings with Juve over the transfer.
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