Juventus were held to a thrilling draw by Udinese, with Cristiano Ronaldo starting from the bench as rumors started to swell about his departure from the club.
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The Serie A season had begun with the focus on Cristiano Ronaldo and several speculations. Rumours had swirled that Ronaldo wanted to leave the club. Before the Serie A game between Juventus and Udinese, Ronaldo was on the bench, further adding fuel to the fire. But, Cristiano Ronaldo came out in the 60th minute and almost scored the match-winner. Paulo Dybala and Juan Cuadrado had opened the scoring for Juventus but mistakes from keeper Wojciech Szczesny gave a lifeline to Udinese.
Roberto Pereya’s penalty and a Gerard Deulofeu goal helped Udinese come back on level terms. At stoppage time, Cristiano Ronaldo scored a header and had apparently sealed the deal for Juventus. But, a length VAR review saw Ronaldo marginally offside and the goal was disallowed. Udinese had started their 2021/22 Serie A season with a 2-2 draw but all focus was on Ronaldo.
Before the start of the season, Ronaldo was speculated to be moving to Real Madrid. The transfer window is open until August 31 and there are many players who have been speculated to move to a different club. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo’s greatest rival, left FC Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain.
There were conflicting reports on Cristiano Ronaldo’s availability for the match against Udinese. Local Italian media reported that Ronaldo did not want to make himself available for the game. But, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri refuted those claims. Allegri insisted that Ronaldo was available to play but it was his decision to put Ronaldo on the bench as he wanted to preserve his fitness.
“Ronaldo is feeling well; I had talked to him before the game, telling him he would start on the bench. He made himself available, he did well when he entered the pitch,” Allegri told local media. But, Allegri’s insistence has not calmed the rumours down.
At the start of August, the first reports of Cristiano Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid emerged. The main reason for Ronaldo moving to Real Madrid is because of Carlo Ancelotti’s appointment as manager. The Portuguese superstar is a big fan of the Italian’s man-management skills and he wants to ensure that he gets back to his best in Real Madrid.
But, Real Madrid are apparently not that interested in getting Cristiano Ronaldo. According to the transfer market rumours, Real Madrid are interested in signing Kylian Mbappe. But, if Paris Saint Germain have their way and out their foot down on Mbappe, Real Madrid might not make many big signings. Apparently, there has been no official bid from any major club for Cristiano Ronaldo.
The transfer market is in overdrive with many players reportedly up for grabs. Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur is being pursued by Manchester City but the buyout clause from the club is huge. Apparently, Manchester City are still some GBP 50 million short. Kane has reportedly stated that he wants to leave Spurs this summer. But, the chairman of the club, Daniel Levy, has said he will stay unless City meet the GBP 150 million transfer valuation.
