Cristiano Ronaldo's Long-Term Future at Juventus in Doubt
By Adam Aladay
Cristiano Ronaldo's long-term future at Juventus is said to be in doubt as a result of his 'unromantic' relationship with the club, but extending his stay in Turin cannot be ruled out either.
The 35-year-old recently returned to action against Spezia after recovering from the coronavirus, marking the occasion with two second half goals. Ronaldo will be looking to get off the mark in his first Champions League game of the season on Wednesday when the Bianconeri take on Ferencvaros.
Ronaldo - who made the high-profile switch to Turin from Real Madrid in 2018 - has two years remaining on his current deal, although there have been suggestions he had previously been offered around as Juventus were struggling to deal with his hefty wages.
Tuttosport report that the Portuguese star still remains very keen on the idea of playing on past 2022 (which is when his current deal is due to expire), even though he will be 37 by then. Indeed, he revealed back in February that he is aiming to play 'hundreds more games' despite reaching the latter stages of his career.
But while his relationship with the Old Lady is described as 'solid', it's claimed he holds an 'unromantic' connection with the Italian giants.
As a result, this has made his long-term future at the club a 'complex' matter, especially with Paris Saint-Germain in the equation. While Tuttosport do allude to the fact that some are suggesting he could make the switch to the Parc des Princes, this is merely a hypothesis at the moment.
Equally, however, simply because it may not be the most 'romantic' relationship between the former Real Madrid man and Juventus, this doesn't make it negative or detrimental in any way. As a result, the idea of Ronaldo staying put cannot be ruled out. But what is clear is that Ronaldo has no intention of moving to a less competitive league, such as MLS or the Chinese Super League.
Ultimately, Ronaldo's future could be dependent on how the financial market and the footballing world recovers over the coming year from the coronavirus pandemic. It would be almost impossible to envisage a scenario where a club would be willing - and able - to actively pursue a deal for the forward in the near future. But Tuttosport note that Ronaldo's long-term future may well become clearer once the footballing world comes out the other side of the global pandemic.