Workers at Juventus sponsor Fiat "are upset at reports that their supposedly cash-strapped employer has offered to help pay" Cristiano Ronaldo's salary should he "move to Turin," according to Dermot Corrigan of ESPN.com. The reported €100M ($117.4M) fee and four-year contract at €30M ($35.2M) per season after tax "would seriously stretch Juve's finances," but Fiat reportedly "offered to take Ronaldo on as a brand ambassador," with the motor company and club sponsor "then assuming a hefty part of the cost involved." Gonzalo Higuaín's €90M ($105.6M) arrival at Juventus from Napoli two years ago "also angered some employees," and the proposed Ronaldo deal is being described as "shameful" in Italian press reports. Fiat employee Gerardo Giannone said, "After Higuaín, now Cristiano Ronaldo too. It is a disgrace. Fiat workers have not had a pay rise in 10 years. With Cristiano's salary we could give every worker an extra €200 [a month]." Former Italy coach Dino Zoff "had a different view on the potential transfer," as he said that bringing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner "would be a coup for Serie A" (ESPN.com, 7/6). SPUTNIK NEWS reported the automaker is said to own 29.18% of the Agnelli family’s businesses [Juventus President Andrea Agnelli is a board member of Fiat and Exor] via investment company Exor N.V. -- which, in turn, owns 63.77% of Juventus (SPUTNIK NEWS, 7/7).
'MATTERS OF COLLECTION': In Barcelona, Óscar Zárate reported Ignacio Ruiz Jarabo, the former head of the Spanish tax authority, said that if Ronaldo goes to Juventus "after reaching an agreement with Spain's tax authorities, there will be no problem." But he added that if he does not reach an agreement, he will have to go on trial, which could result in him being forced to pay his debt. Ruiz Jarabo: "If the player goes to Italy, there would be an embargo by the Italian tax authority, as there is an agreement between Spain and Italy on matters of collection. The salary and the signing bonus would be embargoed" (MUNDO DEPORTIVO, 7/9).
