Juventus could be facing a financial crisis as a result of the rape accusations made against Cristiano Ronaldo. The Italian giants look set to suffer – even if Ronaldo is cleared of the allegations – and could see club sponsors move away if their star player is found guilty.
Juve’s share price has plummeted by almost 30 per cent since German magazine Der Spiegel reported that Ronaldo had been accused of rape by Kathryn Mayorga.
The American, 34, says the player assaulted her in a hotel penthouse in 2009.
Ronaldo has vehemently denied the accusation.
Between September 27 – the day before the allegations against Ronaldo were published by Der Spiegel – and October 10 the Juventus share price dropped from £1.33 to 94p – a fall of 29.6 per cent.
The price recovered slightly yesterday, closing the day up for the first time since the allegations were published.
This followed the statement from Ronaldo’s lawyer claiming that a cyber-criminal had fabricated stolen documents to make him look guilty of rape.
The Juventus share price closed the day on 96p, up 1.96 per cent – but, it was reported last night that Der Spiegel is standing by its story.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Kathryn Mayorga dancingronaldo
However, Brand Finance director Bryn Anderson told SunSport that Juventus could now slip down the rankings due to the allegations made against their star player.
He says that the significant financial rewards Juventus anticipated from the signing of Ronaldo are now at risk.