Rome: Italian football club Juventus may sell its main star, Portuguese striker Cristiano Ronaldo, due to the economic consequences of the coronavirus pandemic, the Il Messaggero newspaper reported on Tuesday.
Juventus has three options for the player’s future in the club – to sell him for at least 70 million euros ($77 million), not to extend his contract, which expires in 2022, or to extend the agreement for another year, but with a lower salary, the newspaper said.
Ronaldo, 35, who joined the club in July 2018, earns about 31 million euros after taxes. The gross amount is 54 million euros. Ronaldo and other Juventus players earlier agreed to cut salaries to ease the club’s financial burden. Ronaldo scored 25 goals in 32 games for Juventus in various tournaments this season.
Italy’s top-tier football championship, Serie A, as well as UEFA Champions League, were suspended in mid-March due to the coronavirus, along with many other tournaments across the globe.
Prior to the suspension, Juventus led Serie A with 63 points after 26 games. Italy ranks first globally in terms of COVID-19 deaths.
As of Monday, the country has registered a total of 101,739 cases of the infection, including 11,591 deaths. (PTI)
