Juventus, Ronaldo agree to forgo 90M euros in wages

Posted March 28, 2020 7:00 am

By ANDREW DAMPF

Juventus' Cristiano Ronaldo controls the ball during the Serie A soccer match between Inter Milan and Juventus at the Allianz Stadium in Turin, Italy, Sunday March 8, 2020. The match was played to a closed stadium as a measure against coronavirus contagion. (Marco Alpozzi/LaPresse via AP) The Associated Press

ROME (AP) - Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates along with coach Maurizio Sarri agreed to forgo 90 million euros ($100 million) in wages on Saturday to help the club during the coronavirus crisis.

The club said the money amounted to four months worth of wages, a third of players' salaries.

The first agreement of its kind in Serie A since play was halted three weeks ago means Ronaldo, the highest-paid player in the Italian league, will give up 10 million euros (more than $11 million).

Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini, who has an economics degree, led the negotiations with the club and fellow players.

'œShould the current season's matches be rescheduled, the club will negotiate in good faith with the players and the coach conditional increases of compensations according to the actual resumption and finalization of official competitions,'ť Juventus said.

Aiming for a record-extending ninth straight Serie A title, Juventus leads the standings by one point from Lazio.

'œJuventus would like to thank the players and the coach for their commitment at a difficult time for everyone,'ť the club concluded.

All sports in Italy have been suspended under a nationwide lockdown through April 3 but health experts have said the need to try to contain the COVID-19 will likely last weeks beyond that. League officials have discussed resuming Serie A in May.

Three Juventus players -- Daniele Rugani, Blaise Matuidi and Paulo Dybala -- have tested positive for COVID-19.

Overall, Italy has nearly 100,000 positive cases and days ago surpassed the total of China, where the outbreak began in early 2020.

Earlier this month, the Agnelli family that controls Juventus donated 10 million euros in relief funds to Italy's civil protection agency.

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Andrew Dampf on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AndrewDampf

FILE - In this Wednesday, Dec. 11, 2019 filer, Juventus team players pose prior to the start of the Champions League Group D soccer match between Bayer Leverkusen and Juventus at the BayArena in Leverkusen, Germany. Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates, combined with coach Maurizio Sarri, have agreed to forgo 90 million euros ($100 million) in wages if the Serie A season does not resume due to the coronavirus outbreak, the club announced Saturday. The new coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms for most people, but for some, especially older adults and people with existing health problems, it can cause more severe illness or death. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File) The Associated Press

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2020 filer, Juventus head coach Maurizio Sarri attends a press conference in Decines, near Lyon, central France. Cristiano Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates, combined with coach Maurizio Sarri, have agreed to forgo 90 million euros ($100 million) in wages if the Serie A season does not resume due to the virus outbreak, the club announced Saturday. (AP Photo/Laurent Cipriani, File) The Associated Press

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