Juventus keen to extend Cristiano Ronaldo's contract
By Tom Gott
Juventus are ready to tell superstar forward Cristiano Ronaldo he will not be sold this summer, with the Italian side instead keen to tie him down to a new contract.
Rumours of a potential split between Ronaldo and Juventus have been rife for a while now, with the 36-year-old's monster wages believed to be more than a little excessive for a club that find themselves in financial struggle already.
Ronaldo hasn't exactly calmed the speculation either, admitting that he has done all he set out to do in Italy, although it was recently suggested that he has privately asked Juventus to offer him a new contract.
According to Sky Sports News, that request has been met positively as Juventus are ready to sit down with Ronaldo to talk about a new deal.
Those in charge at the Allianz Stadium have long stressed that Ronaldo would not be sold this summer - vice-president Pavel Nedved repeated that again this weekend - but up until this point, the idea of a contract extension had not been discussed.
Now, however, Juventus are understood to be planning for the future and will soon tell Ronaldo that they will open talks over a new contract in the near future.
The Bianconeri have a handful of contract dilemmas to sort out, the most urgent of which involves Paulo Dybala.
Like Ronaldo, Dybala has entered the final year of his deal and has been regularly linked with a move away from the club amid rumours he is unhappy in Turin, but Juventus have scheduled talks with his agent in the coming days to try and find a resolution.
Talks are also planned with centre-back Giorgio Chiellini, who is actually a free agent these days after his previous contract expired. His deal was allowed to run down because everyone involved is supremely confident that an agreement will be reached with very little effort once the veteran returns from his holiday.
The Chiellini negotiations are likely to be pretty straightforward, which will be a major relief to Juventus as they prepare for gruelling talks with Dybala and Ronaldo.