Cristiano Ronaldo ASKS to be benched for Juventus’ opening game of the Serie A season against Udinese… with the 36-year-old ‘hoping to find a solution’ in the transfer window after being offered to Manchester City for just £25MILLION
- Cristiano Ronaldo has a year left on his Juventus deal amid frenzied rumours
- Journalist Fabrizio Romano says Ronaldo hasn’t been the subject of a bid yet
- Massimiliano Allegri and Pavel Nedved have claimed that Ronaldo wants to stay
- Tuttosport have said that Juve may be trying to protect their ageing talisman
- However, there is an increasing sense that the forward would like to leave Turin
- Manchester City were offered Ronaldo – but are focused on signing Harry Kane
Cristiano Ronaldo is on the bench for Juventus’ opening-game trip to Udinese in Serie A after reportedly requesting to be left out of the line-up.
The 36-year-old has a year left on his current contract and has been offered to Manchester City during a summer of intense speculation about his future.
Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano claims Ronaldo’s absence from the starting XI is a request by the player himself ‘because he hopes to find a solution’ in the transfer market over the coming days, adding that no official bids have been lodged for the superstar forward.
Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly requested to be benched with his Juventus future up in the air
Massimiliano Allegri has previously insisted that Ronaldo does not want leave the Old Lady
Manager Massimiliano Allegri, who has returned to the Old Lady hotseat following Andrea Pirlo’s dismissal, said in his pre-match press conference that Ronaldo had told him he would stay at Juve.
Fans had been concerned that Ronaldo did not feature on Thursday in a training match against the Under-23 team, but Allegri sought to allay their concerns, saying: ‘Ronaldo didn’t play on Thursday because we were coming off a heavy training workload and I gave him half a day off.
‘Ronaldo is an added bonus for us, because he guarantees a large number of goals. Obviously, we also have to work as a team to get the best out of an individual.
Manchester City have been offered Ronaldo – but they want to prioritise signing Harry Kane
‘He has always trained well, I just read the gossip in the papers. He never told us he wanted to leave. Ronaldo told me that he is staying at Juventus.’
Vice-chairman Pavel Nedved has reiterated Allegri’s remarks, telling DAZN: ‘We’ve decided together with Ronaldo. It’s normal. Ronaldo will 100% stay.’
On the decision to bench Ronaldo, Nedved said: ‘It was a shared decision with the player. We have to start [the] season, [but] you can’t be at the top.
Pavel Nedved insisted that Ronaldo being benched was not a sign that his future is in doubt
It was also reported that Jorge Mendes had offered Ronaldo to his former club Real Madrid
‘It’s a decision for the good of the team. Chiellini, a European champion, also starts from the bench today. Will CR7 stay at Juventus? Absolutely yes.’
Italian outlet Tuttosport have suggested that the agreement between Ronaldo and Allegri to start the game on the bench could be part of a plan to manage his body, but also may be a warning to the five-time Ballon d’Or that he isn’t untouchable in the way he was during his first three seasons at the club.
There is an increasing sense that Ronaldo is angling for a move away from Turin, even if his financial demands are off-putting for a player of his age.
However, both Ronaldo and Carlo Ancelotti have rubbished claims of a Bernabeu reunion
The player’s agent Jorge Mendes is looking for a club capable of taking on his client’s £25.5million-a-year salary.
City were told they would need to bid £25m to lure the former Manchester United favourite to the Etihad, but the Premier League giants are instead focused on capturing Harry Kane.
Ronaldo’s former club Real Madrid have also reportedly been offered their record goalscorer, but both Carlo Ancelotti and Ronaldo have ruled out a move back to the Bernabeu.