Juventus 'urge' Cristiano Ronaldo to take pay cut in contract renewal talks
By Tom Gott
Juventus are keen to extend the contract of forward Cristiano Ronaldo, but the final decision could rest on whether the Portugal international agrees to a wage cut.
I Bianconeri spent big when they brought Ronaldo over from Real Madrid in 2018, splashing out around £100m to sign him on a four-year contract which is thought to be worth at least £400,000-a-week.
After one season in Italy, plenty of reports emerged suggesting Juventus regretted their decision to hand him such a big contract, and the financial impact of the COVID-19 outbreak has only exacerbated concerns.
Now, according to Il Messaggero (via The Express), Juventus are keen to agree a new deal with Ronaldo which would see him agree to slash his salary as the fear is that his huge contract could cripple them financially.
Juventus are still committed to Ronaldo, with manager Andrea Pirlo recently praising the Serie A top scorer for his selfless performances since the start of the season.
"Since the beginning of the season, Cristiano's made himself adaptable to our needs on the pitch,” he said. "In some games he's played more like a proper number nine when we asked our other striker to close down the opposition's playmaker.
"In these games, he can play closer to the penalty area and be more effective in terms of goal scoring. He's always adapted to what I've asked him to do this season and therefore I'm very calm about this part of how we play."
It's hinted that Juventus' decision to try and convince Ronaldo to take a pay cut could actually push him into the arms of Manchester United, who have constantly been the subject of nonsensical rumours about a possible bid for their former star.
Most of the speculation revolves around midfielder Paul Pogba, whose contract also runs until 2022. A return to Juventus was initially suggested, but there are no signs that United want to let him go or want to bring Ronaldo in in exchange.
Obviously, if the chance to re-sign Ronaldo did come up, United would consider it, but it's a deal which would likely be ruled out pretty quickly for financial reasons.