Juventus: Assessing the candidates for Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature

The stage was set for Juventus’ opening game of the 2021/22 Serie A season. While biting their nails, some were keeping an eye on their Twitter feed — awaiting for the starting line-ups to appear on the screen.

People had overwhelming expectations from the game between Juventus and Udinese last weekend. And then came the starting line-up. When looking at it, some started scratching their heads in the sense of recalling the household names missing out of the starting XI. On the other hand, others kept staring at the screens, having already realised that they won’t be seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in the first game of a crucial campaign for the Bianconeri.

So the first hour of the Old Lady’s competitive campaign — from the starting line-up getting revealed to Juventus players taking the field — was tumultuous. Recently becoming a European champion with Italy, Federico Chiesa was also missing. But Ronaldo’s exclusion from the line-up eventually stirred up the brouhaha.

Numerous reliable sources claimed that Ronaldo himself had asked Massimiliano Allegri before the game to drop him from the starting XI as he was entertaining the idea of a summer exit from Juventus. On the contrary, the club’s vice president Pavel Nedved affirmed that Ronaldo would 100% stay at Juve beyond the ongoing summer transfer window.

Later in the match, we would see Ronaldo come off the bench to score a goal and getting a yellow card for taking off his shirt during his signature celebration, only for the goal to be disallowed by VAR for him being offside. The opening game ended in a 2-2 scoreline.

In the post-match conference, Allegri declared Ronaldo’s omission was down to a tactical decision. The returning boss asserted:

"“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, he also scored a goal, but it was disallowed.”"

Who are set to take Cristiano Ronaldo off Juventus’ grasp?

Despite the manager’s assurance, Ronaldo’s future at Turin seems far from settled. Where could he go next? There would’ve been a long queue for Ronaldo’s signature in normal times. However, amid the pandemic, that is certainly not the case. Here we, once again, assess the potential candidates for Cristiano Ronaldo’s signature. Sorry, there will be no Real Madrid.

[Please note that this is a slideshow, which means you will have to press on the “next” button visible down the first page or at the top-right of the page to access the next slide.]

Paris Saint-Germain

“How dare you name Paris Saint-Germain!” — looking at the ambition that they have shown and the signings that the French club has made over the summer, I am compelled to do so. Achraf Hakimi, Gianluigi Donnarumma, Georginio Wijnaldum, Sergio Ramos and Lionel Messi — PSG have apparently run riot in the transfer market with these signings so far.

The asking price of £25 million for Cristiano Ronaldo hence may sound a few pence to them. Though, that potential move depends on whether any suitor provokes Kylian Mbappe to leave PSG this summer.

Real Madrid are understood to be a keen party in Mbappe’s pursuit. The Frenchman’s current contract with the French club is set to run out in summer 2022. Nasser Al-Khelaifi wants to keep the asset and therefore have awarded him with a contract renewal.

Despite having a mega renewal offer on the table, Mbappe is unwilling to tie his long-term future with the Parisian club. Should Real Madrid eventually be successful in signing Mbappe this summer, PSG would undoubtedly be looking to find a replacement.

A prolonged admirer of Cristiano Ronaldo, PSG could then go all out to unite Ronaldo with Messi. Taking the help of the imagination, we can constitute the picture of a team where Ronaldo, Messi, Neymar would all be on the same side. However, PSG’s firmness in keeping hold of Mbappe — an aspiring superstar for the French national team — for another season at least could end the likelihood of Ronaldo moving to Paris this summer.