Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Juventus in summer 2021?

Juventini have so many questions regarding the future of the club after Max Allegri has made his return to replace Andrea Pirlo in the dugout. There are so many intriguing possibilities on the transfer market in terms of entrances and exits, but no question is more central than this one. Is Cristiano Ronaldo leaving Juventus? Because that is the largest domino in the chain, if we consider Allegri replacing Pirlo to be the first.

Rumors surrounding Ronaldo started in the middle of the season when Juve began to struggle and their place in the top four was doubted. Juventus did finish the grueling 2020-2021 campaign in a Champions League place, but that has not stopped the rumor mill from questioning Ronaldo’s future. And Allegri’s appointment may complicate things further.

Let us first make a brief statement regarding Allegri and Ronaldo. You have probably seen rumors stating that Allegri does not want Ronaldo, including those referring to a potential past request during the serial Scudetto winner’s first run with the Bianconeri. But the reality is we don’t know what Allegri thinks about Ronaldo or about the project. We are learning on the go, and the speculation in the papers is nothing to go off here.

What we can more safely surmise is that Ronaldo is putting his legacy first. He wants to win more Champions League trophies and break more individual records. Ronaldo is an ambitious man who aspires for both individual and team excellence, because the latter is even more essential to his ultimate footballing legacy and place among the pantheon of GOATs than the former.

Cristiano Ronaldo may not have as much faith in the Juventus squad

Can Juventus win with this squad? That’s the question Ronaldo will be asking himself, even as the rest of us are preoccupied with directly asking if CR7 will leave Juventus this season.

Juve are in need of a rebuild. That is the whole point with letting Fabio Paratici’s contract expire and replacing Pirlo with Allegri. They want to look at things a different way and entrust a more experienced hand in Allegri to lead such a project.

At the same time, though, they want to make sure they stay in the top four and maximize the potential of the squad. Therefore, Juventus went with someone whom they know can win in Allegri.

The issue is that while Juve can compete in Serie A, they cannot compete in the Champions League as far as winning that title goes. They still need more time.

And time is a commodity Ronaldo does not have much of. He is 36. Conceivably, he can play at this level for a few more years, because he’s a machine on the pitch. But does he want to wait a few years on “What ifs?” in Turin.

PSG makes the most sense as a suitor for Cristiano Ronaldo

That’s the issue. If Ronaldo were happy to just sit there and be a part of the culture at Juve, I’d confidently say that he’d stay. But I think he is more focused on the trophies and sees Juve as a team that cannot deliver on what they initially thought when they signed him.

Thus, I think he wants out.

Now the next question becomes, where can he go?

A reunion with Real Madrid is off the table. They just don’t have the money and must go all-in for Kylian Mbappe.

A reunion with Manchester United? That’s a little more likely, though I still would not expect it to happen. United would have little issue meeting Juve’s demands, but I don’t think they want to commit to Ronaldo and what he wants in terms of structure and focus. I think they want to continue to invest in their young forwards.

Then there is PSG. They make so much sense for Ronaldo. They are the kind of glittery project focused on Champions League titles that he likes. And he can either replace Mbappe or join forces with the young superstar, depending on how things shake out. PSG don’t mind spending a lot on the salaries of older players. They just want big names and the pursuit of trophies. Ronaldo is all about the money and trophies.

The only thing that could sway Cristiano Ronaldo is an attachment to Juventus

But there’s still no guarantee on PSG. They have a lot of money tied up in their players and need to focus on upgrading the rest of the roster, with targets like Achraf Hakimi making more sense to their overall strategy. They are Ronaldo’s best bet, but they are not a slam-dunk bet, per se.

Juventus could keep Ronaldo if there are no valid suitors. But I think PSG is worth keeping an eye on, as is United. And I believe that after this season, Ronaldo sees the writing on the wall in Turin. He may want a different club, such is the drive within him.

But it’s hard to predict with Ronaldo. His partner says he’s staying, for instance. Turin could be his cup of tea as a city, and maybe he does like Serie A and the Juventus culture more than we think. Maybe that is enough to sway him.

This is Cristiano Ronaldo, though. And this is an Allegri-led Juve now. There’s something that may be incompatible with this situation, and, after dissecting the situation, CR7 may be more likely to leave than stay in 2021.