Juventus hopes signing Cristiano Ronaldo will elevate it into the realm of Europe's elite clubs in terms of commercial revenue.GETTY IMAGES
Juventus' acquisition of Cristiano Ronaldo "is not about securing the Serie A title" or winning the Champions League again after 22 years, according to Gabriele Marcotti of the LONDON TIMES. Rather, it is about "going to the next level in commercial terms." That highest plane is occupied by "seemingly recession-proof clubs" such as Real Madrid, ManU, Barcelona and Bayern Munich. Each of those clubs is "well over" the £250M ($328.2M) mark in terms of commercial revenue, "substantially more" than the £101M that Juventus earned in '16-17. After "years of steady organic growth" based around building and developing the club's ground, progressing on the pitch and rebranding with a new logo, Juventus "became convinced that a quantum leap was needed to close the gap with Europe's big four." Thus, when the opportunity presented itself to offer Ronaldo "a way out of Real," the club "seized it with both hands." The Portugal int'l is, "of course, one of a handful of players in the world who can move the commercial needle single-handedly." When you sign Ronaldo, you are not acquiring a player, you are "effectively merging with another global corporation." Ronaldo will also "benefit financially from the deal." Unlike Spain, where he "tangled with the tax authorities on numerous occasions," Italy recently introduced a "fiscal regime for non-domiciled foreign residents similar to Britain." Ronaldo will not be taxed on his worldwide income, but, instead, will pay a flat fee of about £90,000 ($118,100) "on most earnings outside Italy." Estimates of how much this will save him vary, but "most are well above" £10M ($13.1M) a year (LONDON TIMES, 7/17).
