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News that Cristiano Ronaldo could be sold to balance the books next summer left Juventus fans fearing the worst on Monday.
At a time when clubs have been forced to cut costs due to the coronavirus pandemic, Ronaldo’s mammoth salaries of £ 28 million per year raised questions about how Juve will operate in the months and years ahead.
Following his £ 100 million handover from Real Madrid in 2018, the 35-year-old’s current deal takes him through 2022 and makes him comfortably the club, and one of the top earners in football.
Ronaldo earns five times more than his highest paid teammate Paulo Dybala.
Paris Saint-Germain are one of the teams interested in the Portuguese forward as they continue their quest to add more star power to their already stacked squad.
When asked about Ronaldo’s possible availability, PSG sporting director Leonardo declined to rule out a move, noting that ‘something unforeseen can happen’.
He told PSGTV: ‘Today in football we don’t know what’s going to happen. Maybe tomorrow Cristiano Ronaldo will wake up and say that I want to go play elsewhere.
‘Who can buy it? It is a closed circle. PSG enters this circle. It’s usually about opportunities, situations.
‘The transfer window, we have to prepare for it and that’s what we do. We have our priorities, our lists, but something unforeseen can happen. ‘
Leonardo’s latest comments only add fuel to the fire and fans continue to question where Ronaldo’s future lies.
And while reports continue to link him outside of Juventus, the club’s hierarchy has other ideas.
At Allianz Stadium, many of the upper echelons believe that Ronaldo is worth his weight in gold and his influence both on and off the pitch goes hand in hand.
Juve president Andrea Agnelli wants to take advantage of Ronaldo’s image as an icon of the sport, not just the club. The idea is that Agnelli wants to hold on to Ronaldo to make the economic value of Juve for sponsors skyrocket is even more fascinating.
Until at least June 2022, Ronaldo will fulfill his contract, with the idea of extending it even further if he decides to stay in Italy.
Ronaldo is desperate to win the Champions League in Turin, adding a sixth title to his collection, while reports of a possible firing next summer have puzzled Agnelli and management.
At the moment, no top European club can take on Ronaldo’s salary in the current climate. Taking this into account, there is no risk of division between club and player.
Ronaldo’s presence is a major selling point when it comes to recruiting potential transfer targets, while he remains a key asset in renewing high-volume endorsement deals.
Juventus recently managed to close a multi-million dollar renewal deal with adidas, taking them through the summer of 2027, in which the sportswear giants now make the biggest financial contribution to Italian football.
The new deal is worth £ 362 million (€ 408 million) over eight years plus variable fees and royalties on sales. According to Gazzetta dello Sport, starting this season, adidas will pay Juve 45 million pounds sterling (51 million euros) a year.
Much of this deal can be attributed to Ronaldo’s presence in Turin, with the former Real Madrid star seen as a gold mine in the club’s media expansion in Arab and Asian countries.
Insurance giant Allianz, which owns the naming rights to the 41,000-seat stadium, also decided to extend its current deal beyond 2023 to 2030, which will see Juve raise 91 million pounds (103 million euros) in the next 10 years.
Ronaldo, once again, played an important role in making the deal possible, according to Corriere della Sera.
While it can boast by far the highest salary in Italian football, it is offset by big sponsorship deals, while the Old Lady reaps the rewards of these deals and image rights.
Since they made their move in 2018, Juventus has also managed to sell an incredible million jerseys with their name on the back, a feat they have not even matched in Italy even to players like Luis Figo, Brazilian Ronaldo or Kaká.
So his value for Juventus is evident and it seems that the feeling is mutual, for the moment.
While the goal of Champions League glory is the team’s priority, personal scoring accolades are very much on Ronaldo’s mind.
Having racked up 763 goals in not much more than 1,000 appearances in an 18-year stellar career, Ronaldo’s next goal is to surpass legendary Brazilian duo Pelé (767) and Romario (772) on the all-time goalscorer charts. .
Since joining Juve two years ago, Ronaldo has shown no signs of giving up, scoring 71 goals for the club and looks like he has a lot more to give.
While he may have considered leaving during Maurizio Sarri’s tenure as boss, Ronaldo feels much more comfortable playing with Andrea Pirlo.
Off the pitch, life couldn’t be better for the Ronaldo family.
His welcome upon arrival in Italy was compared to that of the Pope, while he and his girlfriend Georgina Rodríguez are settled with their four children.
Ronaldo is known to have appreciated the media frenzy and also chose to invest several million euros in the purchase of a luxury yacht at the Viareggio shipyard.
There are several strands to Ronaldo’s still burgeoning love story with Juve and it doesn’t look like it’s going to be great any time soon.
He may eventually want to try something new as he enters his career twilight, but for Juve, he will still not part with his precious asset.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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