Cristiano Ronaldo told he destroyed a European giant

Stuart Telford

• 28 Apr 2023 20:36 BST
• 3 min read

Juventus's current legal and financial problems can be traced back directly to the €117 million signing of Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 according to Fiorentina's president Rocco Commisso.

Juventus smashed their transfer record when they signed Ronaldo from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018, and the Portuguese was a prolific scorer there, hitting 101 goals in 134 games.

But the Champions League - which he was bought to win - continued to elude them, and things have gone from bad to worse since, with Juve's whole board resigning in November after accusations of false accounting and market manipulation.

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Ronaldo was one of a number of players reported to have received secret payments at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Juventus have appealed the investigation against them - and provisionally had 15 points reinstated in Serie A - but their predicament is not something that Fiorentina boss Commisso envies.

Juve's problems 'started with Ronaldo'

"Income's a problem for us, [but] we don't want to end up like Juventus," the Italy-born American billionaire told Mediaset.

"Their problems started when they signed Cristiano Ronaldo and that's not going to happen with Fiorentina. I don't know where we're going, but we're certainly not going to end up bankrupt."

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Fiorentina are 10th in Serie A this season but will face Inter Milan in the Coppa Italia final on 24 May.

La Viola have long since become a selling enterprise, and squeezed a club record €81.6m out of Juventus for Dusan Vlahovic in January 2022, the Serbian spurning Arsenal in the process.

Despite that, Commisso, who owns US media giant Mediacom, says most of Fiorentina's budget comes from him personally.

"I don't do anything here, I just bring money from America," he said. "God will help us…"

Ronaldo left Juventus for Manchester United in the summer of 2021 but after slamming the club in an unsanctioned interview with Piers Morgan was released on a free in December.

He joined Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia in January and is now the highest paid player in history on €200m a season.