The Cristiano Ronaldo saga could be set to explode into life in the latter stages of the transfer window – will he stay or will he go?
Ronaldo stunned the football world when he made the decision to swap Real Madrid for Juventus back in 2018.
While the absence of Champions League success in Turin is a stain on his time in Italy, 81 goals in 97 Serie A appearances is a quite ridiculous haul.
Ronaldo will have an opportunity to add to that tally as Juventus visit Udinese this evening, but if he is to score, he’ll have to do it off the bench.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Ronaldo will be among the substitutes for tonight’s game… with the forward hoping to leave the club before the end of the window.
Cristiano Ronaldo will be on the bench for Udinese-Juventus. Official. ??? #Ronaldo
He’s NOT starting – it was a precise request from Cristiano because he hopes to find a solution on the market in the next days.
But Juventus have received NO official bids yet for Cristiano. pic.twitter.com/sQ0z3rO1Bk
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 22, 2021
MORE: Photo: Cristiano Ronaldo issues a strongly-worded statement on Instagram regarding his future
While Ronaldo’s desire is apparently to have a change of scenery, Juve VP Pavel Nedved insists that he will be going nowhere between now and the end of the transfer window.
Juventus vice president Pavel Nedved about CR7 out of the starting XI: “We’ve decided together with Ronaldo. It’s normal. Ronaldo will 100% STAY”, he told DAZN. ???? #Ronaldo
Juventus are still convinced Cristiano will stay – as they’ve received NO official bids for him. pic.twitter.com/Fzo7aDImDh
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 22, 2021
Ronaldo is unlikely to be given the opportunity to leave Juve in the little time that remains of the transfer window, even if he’s open to the idea of moving on.
It’d be bizarre for him to kick up a fuss knowing that he’s likely to be spending the season with Juventus. He’ll be wanting this to be as amicable as possible.