Juventus What is a ‘side letter’ and why was it difficult to convince Ronaldo to sign with Corriere.it

To understand the impact of the “famous Ronaldo card” – according to the hypothesis of the investigation – we need to start with one of the emails seized by the Guardia di Finanza, as part of the investigation into Juventus accounts. Like the one sent by lawyer Federico Restano (not under investigation) on April 15, 2021, nine minutes after midnight, to his colleague João Félix Nogueira (not under investigation), expert in tax legislation and representative of the Portuguese player: « I completely understand your point. , Our proposal is to sign the reduction at the same time And a binding letter in which Juventus delivers a document “other writings” to the player (bonuses) And the side messageBoth were duly signed by Juventus ».

That’s not all: “Second: undertakes to repeat the ‘Other Writings’ document (reward) on the official federal form (not yet available) by the end of July.” Practically – In the reconstruction of the Public Prosecutor’s Office of Turin and the yellow flame – One agreement would have been introduced in accordance with federal regulations while the other, the “side letter”, was not.

The latter was the CR7’s warranty, acknowledgment of debt, for which no signature of the alleged creditor is required, but only that of the alleged debtor (in the case, Juventus): to receive arrears and monthly payments not yet paid according to the “salary maneuver”. This is an important agreement because, according to investigators, Making “conditional” obligations officially become “unconditional”.», for example the player’s residence in the club.

If the future had been different – as it did, with the move to United – the player would have been given incentives to leave, but at the same timing. Hence the necessity of entering the amounts in the budget according to the claim; It does not exist, on the contrary, according to Juventus and the experts interviewed by the club. Convince Ronaldo However, it was not easy, and this can also be deduced from the exchange of emails: «Like Caesar (Gabasio, so) Flag, The central question my clients always ask themselves is whether the situation contains any legal uncertainty.”.

Nogueira wrote to Restano, who collaborated from the big law firm with his former colleague Gapaccio, who in the meantime had become the head of the Juventus legal office. The correspondence was thick, between questions and reassurances: “Allow me to check with the client again during the afternoon,” confirmed the Portuguese professional, “and I will arrive tomorrow with a final green light.”

In short, OK with CR7. “I don’t expect any surprises – concluded Nogueira – please confirm that all documents will be signed at the same time, ie demotion, bonus, accompanying letter.”

If this is the picture that emerged from the searches of the soldiers of the Economic and Financial Police Unit, deputy Marco Gianoglio, prosecutors Mario Bendoni and Ciro Santorello They still want to hear about Ronaldo as someone familiar with the facts: The last hypothesis is that the Portuguese landed his private plane at Cuneo Livaldigi Airport, and then heard it away from prying eyes.

It is not without great delusions, given that the former Juventus player has so far ignored two summons and has not responded to questions sent with an international judicial representation, in the United Kingdom, at the time of United. The judges want to know whether or not Ronaldo possessed a copy of the side letter – they speculate -, whether he signed it or not, and whether he was paid. With the four tranches provided for by the agreements, of €4.88 million gross (from €2.58 net), one every two months, from September-October 2021 to March-April 2022.