Korean partners lost $50 million because Ronaldo did not play

K-League organizing committee said that Juventus was arrogant to leave the Portuguese star outside the friendly last week.

“Ronaldo did not play, and Juventus did not attend the fan meeting. We are calculating the damage and making TheFasta – the partner responsible for inviting Juventus to compete – compensation,” Head of Public Relations. K-League Kim Jin-hyung told Yonhap news agency on July 31 at a press conference in Seoul.

Kim also said the K-League also complained to the Italian Association of professional tournaments, Serie A and AFC.

The Seoul Police Department then confirmed the complaint and investigated when some fans accused of being deceived by Juventus. These people said they bought tickets because they believed in the advertisement that saw Ronaldo play. According to Yonhap, the damage can be up to six billion Won, equivalent to 50.7 million USD.

Juventus played friendly against the K-League All-Stars last Friday. However, the match took place an hour late, due to Juventus coming too late. The defending Serie A team also did not let the biggest star Ronaldo play the game any time, although, under the contract, he must play at least 45 minutes.

More than 63,000 spectators were coming to the stadium, and most of them left in frustration, though the final score was 3-3. The game was late, and there was no evidence of Ronaldo playing after 10 years returning to Korea, making many people angry.

“We have sent a protest letter to Juventus for violating the contract, including not allowing Ronaldo to play,” Kim Jin-hyung added.

In the letter, K-League said that Juventus acted arrogantly and was responsible for Ronaldo’s absence. Previously, the Italian team demanded to shorten the match to 40 minutes each half. The Italian champion also promises to guarantee on-time even in the dense tour schedule.