CELEBRITY
Juventus say prosecutors looking into terms of Ronaldo sale
Juventus (JUVE.MI) said Italian prosecutors had ordered a new search of its offices under an investigation into the Serie A club’s financial accounting and were also examining the terms of the sale of star player Cristiano Ronaldo to Manchester United (MANU.N)
Publishing a supplement to an investor document for a share issue on Thursday, Juventus reiterated that it had always acted in compliance with existing laws and it was fully collaborating with authorities.
Turin prosecutors said last week they were investigating the club and some of its senior managers, including Chairman Andrea Agnelli and Vice President Pavel Nedved, in a case centred around player transfers.
The prosecutors said they were checking whether Turin-based Juventus provided false communications to investors and issued invoices for transactions that never took place.
Italian financial police searched the club’s offices last week to seize documents relating to player transfers between 2019 and 2021.
The latest search mentioned in the investor document was carried out on Thursday, a person with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Hit hard by the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, Juventus are seeking to raise 400 million euros in cash by selling new shares to cut debt and repair its finances.
In the supplement to the cash call prospectus, Juventus said prosecutors were also looking at its financial statements for the first half of 2021 in relation to Ronaldo’s sale.
In August, Juventus reached an agreement to sell the Portuguese player to Manchester United for 23 million euros ($26 million), including 8 million euros linked to the achievement of specific performance objectives.
Juventus said at the time the deal entailed a 14 million euro hit on its results for the 2020/21 financial year, contributing to a record-high loss of 210 million euros.
A judicial source said prosecutors were checking the accuracy of figures in the club’s financial statement relating to the transaction after a wiretapped conversation between club officials mentioned a document that called into question the fairness of the accounting.
Lawyers for Juventus and its managers said the new search did not reflect new charges being investigated, adding the warrant mentioned a document which had yet to be found.
The club said in the supplement to the share issue document that it did not believe the investigation and the searches constituted a “material adverse change” under a contractual clause that would allow the banking consortium guaranteeing the cash call to withdraw its commitment.
Juventus, one of 12 leading European clubs that made a failed attempt to set up a breakaway European Super League in April to beef up their finances, is controlled by Exor (EXOR.MI), the holding company of Italy’s Agnelli family.
Exor has committed to subscribing to the cash call to keep its 63.8% stake.
Goldman Sachs (GS.N), JP Morgan (JPM.N), Mediobanca (MDBI.MI) e UniCredit CIB (CRDI.MI) are the offer’s joint global coordinators.
Juventus shares were down 0.8% by 1531 GMT on Friday against a flat Italian all-share index (.FTITLMS).
($1 = 0.8854 euros)
-Reuters
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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