Man Utd handend Cristiano Ronaldo transfer optimism as Juventus backtrack on Andrea Pirlo promise.
Manchester United’s chase of Cristiano Ronaldo has won a major boost after Juventus chiefs made a drastic U-turn by firing Andrea Pirlo.
The Italian was dismissed on Friday and Massimiliano Allegri quickly ushered in as his successor for a second consignment as Bianconeri boss.
Pirlo signed a two-year deal last August and led the club to Coppa Italia honor in his first season in charge, but an underwhelming fourth-place finish in Serie A sealed his destiny.
However, Pirlo won assurances over his future only a matter of weeks ago as Juve vice-chairman Pavel Nedved maintained neither he nor Ronaldo were going anywhere.
“Pirlo and Ronaldo will stay at Juventus,” Nedved told Italian outlet Striscia la Notizia earlier this month.
The fact the Juventus chief has now backtracked on half of his promise implies his resolve is not as strong as he indicates.
His previous comments claiming Ronaldo is “untouchable” must be taken with a nip of salt.
“For me, Ronaldo can’t be touched,” Nedved told DAZN in March. “He has a contract until June 30, 2022 and will stay. What happens after that remains to be seen.
Ronaldo, for his part, is earnest about returning to Old Trafford 12 years on from when he left United for Real Madrid.
That’s according to Spanish outlet Diario AS , which appends United boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer has convinced the Portugal legend of his place in his plans.
Ronaldo joined Juventus for £99.2million in 2018, but with just one year remaining on his contract, the Old Lady are guessed to be listening to offers in the region of £21.5million.
It is understood that signing the 36-year-old would mean meeting his eye-watering wages – he takes home £540,000 per week at Juventus.
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Earlier this week, the five-time Ballon d’Or champ posted a long message saying he has “reached his goal” with Juventus.
“The life and career of any top player are made of ups and downs,” Ronaldo wrote on Instagram.
“Year after year, we face fantastic teams, with extraordinary players and ambitious goals, so we always have to give our best to keep ourselves at excellence levels.
“This year we couldn’t win Serie A, congratulations to Inter for the well deserved title. However, I have to value everything that we achieved this season at Juventus, both in collective and individual terms.
“The Italian Super Cup, the Italian Cup and the Serie A Top Scorer trophy fill me with happiness, mainly due to the difficulty they carry with them, in a country where nothing is easy to win.
“With these achievements, I reached a goal that I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy: to win the Championship, the Cup and the Super Cup, and also to be Best Player and Top Scorer in this great football country filled with tremendous players, giant clubs and a very own football culture.”
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- Manchester United supporters give a similar verdict after David de Gea penalty slip in the Europa League final.
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Man Utd handend Cristiano Ronaldo transfer optimism as Juventus backtrack on Andrea Pirlo promise.
