Cristiano Ronaldo to be named Juventus captain next season - Reports
Juventus are reportedly ready to put their faith in Cristiano Ronaldo next season and name him the club's captain. The Portuguese superstar was touted to leave Juventus in the summer, but now it seems the club have taken a u-turn in that regard.
According to Italian journalist Mirko Nicolino, Juventus are prepared to lose both Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini in the summer, which has prompted the club's higher-ups to award the captaincy to Cristiano Ronaldo. The report also states that Dutch defender Matthijs De Ligt would be groomed as Ronaldo's successor and will take over when the Portuguese leaves the club.
Both Buffon and Chiellini have been with the Bianconeri for a while, but it now seems Juventus are ready to usher in a new generation at the club. That should put all doubts surrounding Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus future to rest.
Calls for Cristiano Ronaldo to leave the club gained ground after Juventus were surprisingly knocked out of the UEFA Champions League by Porto. But it seems that the club's hierarchy is more than happy to stick with the forward for another season.
Ronaldo has scored 95 goals for the Bianconeri since his move from Real Madrid in 2018.
The Portuguese superstar is leading the race in the Serie A's scoring charts this season, netting 23 times in 24 appearances. However, Juventus have lost ground in the race for the Scudetto after a shock 1-0 loss against Benevento at the weekend.
The Bianconeri are now a whopping ten points behind leaders Inter Milan and unlikely to win a tenth consecutive Scudetto.
Juventus unlikely to move on from Cristiano Ronaldo and Andrea Pirlo
Juventus vice-president Pavel Nedved has announced that the club will not be moving on from Cristiano Ronaldo and coach Andrea Pirlo at the end of the season. According to Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano, Nedved said in this regard:
"Cristiano Ronaldo will stay at Juventus; he's untouchable. Also, Andrea Pirlo will be our manager next season."
Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici is also adamant that the Portuguese superstar will remain at the club beyond this season. Speaking after Juventus' loss against Benevento, he said:
"We have Ronaldo. He’s the best in the world, and we’re holding on to him. This is not a game that changes our ideas, let's go our own way. This route continues. We are very convinced of what we are doing; let's stay on this path."