Juventus News Roundup: Bianconeri make decision on Andrea Pirlo future, Cristiano Ronaldo potential swap deal and more | 11th March, 2021
Juventus are still reeling from their UEFA Champions League exit at the hands of Porto in midweek. The tie ended 4-4 on aggregate, but the Bianconeri were knocked out due to the away goals rule.
Andrea Pirlo will be hoping his side can bounce back with a win against Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday.
With that in mind, here are the latest Juventus news on 11th March, 2021.
Juventus to stick with Andrea Pirlo
Andrea Pirlo is currently in the hot seat at Juventus. With the Bianconeri getting knocked out of the UEFA Champions League, many have called for the Italian to be sacked.
However, according to Calciomercato, Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has no intention of parting ways with Andrea Pirlo. However, the report also states that this may only be until the end of the season, so as to not disrupt the dressing room even more during this crucial stage of the campaign.
Juventus are currently 10 points behind Inter Milan at the top of the table. Pirlo's time as Bianconeri manager could soon be coming to an end if they manage to end the season without any silverware.
Juventus considering swap deals for Cristiano Ronaldo
Following his subpar display against Porto in the UEFA Champions League, many people associated with Juventus have called for the club to cut ties with Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
According to Calciomercato, Juventus are willing to include Ronaldo in swap deals for other superstars who they consider a better fit than the forward. The report states that Juventus have a shortlist of three players that they see as potential candidates for a swap deal.
Manchester United's Paul Pogba, PSG's Mauro Icardi and Sporting Lisbon's Pedro Goncalves are reportedly the three players that Juventus are interested in swapping Cristiano Ronaldo for. However, a deal like this would be very difficult to pull off due to the Portuguese forward's wage demands.
Former Juventus president thinks signing Cristiano Ronaldo was a mistake
Former Juventus president Giovanni Gigli believes that the club made a mistake when they opted to sign Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid in 2018.
When asked if signing the Portuguese superstar was a mistake, Gigli told Radio Punto Nuovo as reported by Goal:
"Absolutely, yes! I said that on his very first day at Juventus. He is a great champion but is too expensive. Now it's up to Juventus. They've been paying him €1m per goal. Agnelli must be self-critical, but he doesn't have great collaborators. The club should free Ronaldo at the end of the season and the same goes for [Fabio] Paratici. Maybe Agnelli had promoted him to remove him from his position afterwards. This could be the scenario."