Cristiano Ronaldo facing BAN over £79million Juventus wages scandal with superstar among 22 players ‘paid off books’

CRISTIANO RONALDO is reportedly facing a ban over his £79million Juventus wages scandal.

That’s amid claims he was among 22 players who was “paid off the books” by the disgraced Italian giants.

GettyCristiano Ronaldo is reportedly facing a Serie A ban amid Juventus’ scandal[/caption]

Juventus have been hit with a 15-point ban in Serie A after prosecutors found them guilty of accounting breaches.

The likes of now-Tottenham director Fabio Paratici were handed bans from football.

And the Mirror claims some players could now also get suspended from Italian football.

It’s said the likes of Ronaldo, Giorgio Chiellini and Paulo Dybala were paid deferred wages “off the books” after agreeing to deferrals during the Covid pandemic.

Ronaldo is said to have been paid £79.5m despite only agreeing to a deferral of £17.2m.

And should it be proven they were knowingly complicit, they could receive 30-day suspensions in Italian football.

Spurs were rocked last week when director of football Paratici was handed a two-and-a-half year ban from the game by an Italian court.

He was found guilty of orchestrating a transfer scam over three seasons at Juventus.

The shock finding means the FA is now likely to be asked to implement the suspension by its Italian counterparts.

SunSport understands Wembley chiefs are unclear if the sanction is one that they must automatically apply or await direction from Fifa.

But normally associations accept the disciplinary decisions of fellow governing bodies and while it is expected Paratici will appeal the verdict – of the Federal Appeals Court – his future at Tottenham appears bleak.

Juventus were accused of inflating transfer fees in dealings with other Italian clubs over three seasons to create millions of pounds in “capital gains” for tax purposes.

It was stated that Juve had manipulated the system to free up their spending powers in the market.

Juve and eight clubs, including Sampdoria, Genoa and Parma, were initially acquitted in May.

But that verdict was appealed to the Federal Appeals Court and Italian FA prosecutors asked the case to be reheard and for serious sanctions at last week’s hearing.

Prosecuting lawyer Giuseppe Chine had only asked for an immediate nine-point penalty.

Instead, the “Old Lady” were deducted 15 points, ripping the heart out of their Serie A campaign.