Having suffered a 2-1 defeat in the first leg of their Champions League round-of-16 clash with FC Porto, Juventus won the rematch by 3-2, a result that saw their campaign in UEFA’s elite competition end much sooner than they would’ve expected once again. In the aftermath of the tie, rumours arose claiming Cristiano Ronaldo was keen to return to Real Madrid this summer, three years after leaving the Spanish capital to come to Turin.
Real head coach Zinedine Zidane only added fuel to the fire by refusing to rule it out when asked directly. On the other hand, Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo insists Ronaldo is ‘fine’, and that these rumours were only to be expected following the Porto result. As for the 36-year-old himself, he posted a very passionate reiteration of his current devotion to the Old Lady on Instagram, stressing that the focus now turns to Cagliari in the Serie A race on Sunday.
View this post on Instagram
But Italian publication Corriere dello Sport (via AS) have reported that Juventus are in fact preparing for a possible departure of the five-time Champions League winner, and that they’ve worked out a price at which they could afford to relinquish his services.
Apparently, the sum in question amounts to €29 million, which they feel is a very fair price for a player of such quality despite his age. On the other hand, Ronaldo’s incredibly high wages in Turin could pose a big problem for any potential suitor.
