How Juventus will line up with Ronaldo in 2021-22
Martin Macdonald
- 20 Aug 2021 18:00 BST
- 3 min read
Juventus have received a boost, on the pitch at least, after Cristiano Ronaldo confirmed he would be staying at the Allianz Stadium for the 2021/22 season.
Reports over the summer emerged that Ronaldo was unhappy in Turin and had informed agent Jorge Mendes to find him a new club.
He was subsequently linked with a return to Manchester United, Real Madrid or Sporting CP, and even a massive transfer to Paris Saint-Germain which would see him link up with Lionel Messi.
Despite now being 36 years of age, Ronaldo remains one of the most devastating strikers in world football.
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Juventus may have surrendered Serie A to Inter and only just managed to qualify for the Champions League in 2020/21, but Ronaldo was still in-form at the top end of the pitch.
In 41 starts in all competitions, he scored 36 goals, including 29 in Serie A.
Ahead of the new Serie A campaign, he pledge his immediate future to Juve with a post on Instagram, while criticising the media outlets who reported on his alleged desire to leave.
So, with CR7 in the ranks, how will Juventus line up under new head coach Massimiliano Allegri?
Juventus XI with Ronaldo
When Milan announced that Gianluigi Donnarumma would not be signing a new contract with the club, the general assumption was that the Italian would end up at Juventus.
But, he joined PSG instead, which means Wojciech Szczesny remains the number one goalkeeper.
If Allegri opts to play a 4-4-2 which is more than likely going to happen, Juan Cuadrado will be asked to play at right-back with Alex Sandro on the left.
Giorgio Chiellini was one of the best players at Euro 2020 and recently signed a new one-year deal with Juventus.
He will receive plenty of game time, of course, but Leonardo Bonucci and Matthijs de Ligt will be given the nod as first-team starters more frequently.
Juventus' only major signing of the summer is Manuel Locatelli, and he will come into a midfield three alongside Rodrigo Bentancur and Adrien Rabiot.
Arthur and Weston McKennie will be available in reserve, as will, for the moment, Aaron Ramsey.
Federico Chiesa was fantastic at the Euros for Italy and should start on the right of a front three, with Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala in the other spots.
Alvaro Morata will be available whenever Allegri wants a more recognised focal point as the central striker in attack.
Dejan Kulusevski and Federico Bernardeschi will see game time too.
Read more about: Serie A, Juventus, Juventus, Aaron Ramsey, Adrien Rabiot, Alex Sandro, Alvaro Morata, Arthur, Bernard, Cristiano Ronaldo, Dejan Kulusevski, Federico Bernardeschi, Federico Chiesa, Gianluigi Donnarumma , Juan Cuadrado, Leonardo Bonucci, Lionel Messi, Manuel Locatelli, Matthijs de Ligt, Paulo Dybala, Rodri, Rodrigo, Rodrigo Bentancur, Weston McKennie, Wojciech Szczęsny
