There is a possibility that Cristiano Ronaldo will exit from Juventus as early as next summer. This as reports from Spain suggested that the former Real Madrid star could be sold by the Old Lady before his contract ends, and for a host of reasons.
For Juventus, the most obvious motivation for selling the Portuguese superstar is money. The lack of profits in the past months has been plaguing all football clubs in Europe and the Turin club is not an exception. The team is trying to save up cash and getting Ronaldo off the books seemed a plausible solution.
The offloading move makes sense as Ronaldo collects a weekly salary of £540,000 from the Italian giants. The 35-year-old's pay alone eats up a big chunk of Juventus' wage bill as The Sun pointed out that Ronaldo is paid several times higher compared to most players in the club roster.
It is understood that an extended stay by Ronaldo at Juventus has been ruled out. The Italian side is more inclined to recoup a portion of the £100 million transfer fee paid out to Real Madrid in 2018. So instead of losing the prolific marksman for free in 2022, the club thought it wise to start looking for a transfer partner.
And it is possible that a deal could be completed by the end of the current season, meaning Ronaldo could be out of Italy by summer next year.
Ronaldo's performance with Juventus so far can be best described as beyond impressive. At 35, he shows no sign of slowing down as evidenced by a recent bout with COVID-19. The striker returned from the sickbay and scored goals to power his side to victories.
In the ongoing season, the star already found the net six times and in his last two campaigns with the Italians, Ronaldo scored 65 goals. His efforts paid off as Juventus managed to keep its dominance of Serie A, winning the league title in the two straight seasons that the Portuguese is part of the club.
However, Fox Sports reported that Juventus' chief goal of signing Ronaldo two years ago was not achieved. The Italians dreamed of dominating the Champions League with the former La Liga superstar but the last two tries proved disappointing.
Juventus failed to advance deep in the European competition and the club board might be convinced that it is time to move on from Ronaldo. There were suggestions too of the star's attitude problems but his teammates have dismissed such stories as unfounded rumors.
In case though of a move away from Italian football, the options are aplenty for the Portugal team captain. Ronaldo could return to his previous clubs, that would be Manchester United or Real Madrid, but his most viable choice is likely Paris Saint-Germain.
The Parisians could be losing their star players Neymar and Kylian Mbappe in 2021 and it that happens, it could open the door for Ronaldo to come in.
