MANCHESTER UNITED are set to pocket a near-£1million payment from Juventus before the end of the 2019-20 season thanks to Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Red Devils will get around £850,000 from the Serie A giants as part of the £99m deal which saw the forward, 34, leave the Bernabeu in the summer of 2018.
Man Utd are still owed nearly £1m by Juventus for his £99m move from Real
A Man Utd source is calling the money “the second instalment of a solidarity payment”.
Solidarity payments – introduced by Fifa in 2001 – are usually one-off lumps sums considered compensation for signing a player aged 23 or under.
Ronaldo arrived at Man Utd in 2003 for £12m and left six years later, aged 24, to join Real Madrid in a then-world-record £80m deal.
Juventus’ financial records for the season were recently revealed – with the payment to Man Utd showing up.
While no further concrete details on the payment have been released, it’s fair to assume the clause was inserted into one of Ronaldo’s past transfers.
All in all, United are set to pocket a shade over £2m from the Portuguese star’s move from Spain to Italy.
But Ronaldo’s move to Juventus hasn’t been all fun and games – with the forward locked in a bitter row with boss Maurizio Sarri.
The ex-Los Blancos star was left fuming after being substituted by Sarri in the 55th minute against AC Milan earlier this month – seen mouthing “what the f***?”
Recently, Sarri has deemed Ronaldo to not be physically ready to play any part this weekend – and will miss this weekend’s game with Atalanta.
However, Ronaldo was fit enough to play in Portugal’s matches against Lithuania and Luxembourg over the international break, scoring in both.
The rift has seen rumours of a return to Old Trafford for CR7 surface.
But on Friday, Ronaldo posted a message on Instagram suggesting he’s fully focused on Juventus.
He wrote: “Focused on my recovery to come back soon!”
Five reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo’s transfer back to Man Utd could be on – including Ferguson and Juventus troubles
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
