Cristiano Ronaldo vetoes the signing of former Real Madrid team-mate, Manchester United top target close to joining Juventus in a club-record deal and more Serie A news: 23 May 2019
Hello and welcome to the Serie A news and rumours of the day! As we head even closer to the summer transfer market, let's take a look at the top stories of the day surrounding the Italian league.
Paolo Maldini insists that his friendship with Gattuso would not affect his decision-making
AC Milan are under tremendous pressure as the club are battling for a top-four finish this season. The Italian giants are currently fifth in the Serie A table, just one point behind fourth-placed Inter, with one league game remaining in the season. Manager Gennaro Gattuso has come under heavy criticism due to his overly-defensive approach.
His former teammate Paolo Maldini, who is on the Rossoneri board that will take a call on the manager, however, has insisted that his friendship with the 41-year-old will count for nothing when it comes to deciding Gattuso’s fate.
“I have to do my job and evaluate Gattuso, we’re not teammates anymore.
“You must have respect for the people you are working with. We are both here to help make this culb work in the best way it possibly can. Our views can be different, but our friendship helps us to overcome our differences.
“However, I will have to evaluate the job he has done in a cold and detached manner. We have different roles at the club, and we’re not teammates anymore.
“Director of sporting strategy and development at Milan is a job title that covers so many different areas."
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic nearing €100 M Juventus switch
Sergej Milinkovic-Savic has been a huge revelation for Lazio since the midfielder contributed a massive 12 goals and three assists in the 2017-18 Serie A season. This term, however, his productivity has sharply declined as he has been only directly involved in eight of Lazio's goals in the league.
Nevertheless, the 24-year-old has been named Serie A's Best Midfielder for the 2018-19 campaign, following Lazio's Coppa Italia triumph. Manchester United have reportedly remained interested in the midfielder's services.
The Red Devils tried to sign him last summer, but they saw their transfer opportunity collapse after the Serbian opted to sign a new contract extension at Lazio. However, the situation has changed as Juventus now appear to be the favourites to land the talented midfielder.
A recent report even states that Milinkovic-Savic is close to joining Juventus in a €100 million deal. The deal will see him becoming Juventus' joint-most expensive player alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.
Cristiano Ronaldo is against the idea of Juventus signing Isco
The Real Madrid attacking midfielder has been linked with Juventus for some time now. The Spaniard only managed 11 league starts this season, the lowest in his entire career at the Bernabeu. Former Real Madrid boss Santiago Solari had even frozen Isco from the squad when he was in charge of the club.
He has found some relief after Zinedine Zidane was appointed for the second time as the Real Madrid head coach. However, the 27-year-old has still not been able to cement his place in the squad, following the Frenchman's appointment. He failed to register any assists and managed to score just once in his last 10 matches for Real Madrid.
Now, numerous speculations over his future have risen once again as the former Malaga star started just once in his last four games. Manchester United, Juventus and Paris Saint-Germain are said to be interested in him. However, Ronaldo reportedly does not want Juventus to sign the midfielder.
Ronaldo played together with Isco for about five seasons at Real Madrid, but their relationship has not been excellent. The report also states that the Portuguese star does not even want to know anything about him.