Juventus confirm Ronaldo wants to leave, ahead of proposed Man City move

Updated: 27 Aug 2021 13:48 BST
3 min read

Juventus star Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring for Portugal against Hungary at Euro 2020 — © ProShots

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo has asked to leave the club, ahead of a proposed move to Manchester City.

The player’s status at the Italian giants has changed dramatically over the last few days, as reports in England and Italy suggested that a last-minute move to Man City or Paris Saint-Germain could be on the cards.

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With just one year left on his contract in Turin, Ronaldo could leave the club for a minimal fee and on Thursday it emerged that Man City were willing to pay between £25-30 million to sign the Portugal international after their attempts to sign Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane fell through.

Amid the speculation, Juventus manager Allegri was on hand at a press conference on Friday to confirm that Ronaldo had made his intentions clear and now wanted to leave the club.

“I spoke to Cristiano yesterday and he told me he has no intention of staying so he has not trained today and won’t be called up for tomorrow,” said the Juventus manager.

“Ronaldo should be thanked for everything he’s done, including the example he has set to our young players. But as I said, we need to move on.”

© ProShots - Ronaldo won multiple trophies as a Manchester United player

Swapping the red of Manchester for the blue

However, while a move to Man City may make sense for Ronaldo in a sporting sense, his return to England will undoubtedly ruffle the feathers of fans on the other side of Manchester.

Ronaldo spent six years at Manchester United between 2003 and 2009, where he played in almost 300 games for the club, scoring 118 goals and winning three Premier League titles and a Champions League trophy.

Indeed, the player’s eagerness to make the move to Man City may be seen by some as a sign of disrespect to Man Utd and could tarnish Ronaldo’s reputation among fans of the club that many believe turned him into the star that he is today.

However, if Ronaldo can score goals, win games and help Man City pick up silverware this season then the senior star will surely be able to look beyond criticism from Old Trafford.