Cristiano Ronaldo asked to be benched to seek 'solution' to his Juventus future

Cristiano Ronaldo's future at Juventus is seemingly up in the air and the 36-year-old reportedly asked to be left out of the starting lineup on Sunday to find a 'solution' to his future.

The Bianconeri kickstarted their quest to reclaim the Serie A title away to Udinese but their record signing and talisman was surprisingly omitted from the starting lineup.

The Juventus attack was instead led by Alvaro Morata and Paulo Dybala while Cristiano Ronaldo cooled his heels on the bench.

According to renowned Italian transfer specialist Fabrizio Romano, this was a specific request from the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in a bid to seek clarity on his future.

Cristiano Ronaldo has less than a year to go on his current deal with Juventus and speculation is rife that he could depart Turin this summer.

Cristiano Ronaldo will be on the bench for Udinese-Juventus. Official. 🚨🇵🇹 #RonaldoHe’s NOT starting - it was a precise request from Cristiano because he hopes to find a solution on the market in the next days.But Juventus have received NO official bids yet for Cristiano. pic.twitter.com/sQ0z3rO1Bk
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 22, 2021

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The Bianconeri have felt the financial blow of the COVID-19 pandemic and have been looking for ways to reduce expenses. Part of this comes in the form of Cristiano Ronaldo's hefty wages, although the club have been adamant in their stance that the Portugal international is not leaving.

According to Romano, the Serie A giants are yet to receive any concrete offers, although reports suggest that Cristiano Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes is still sending feelers to Europe's elite teams.

The former Real Madrid man's future has been the subject of intense speculation which led Ronaldo to come out and address the rumors, as well as pledge his future to Juventus.

Juventus stutter to opening draw in Serie A, Cristiano Ronaldo sees last-gasp winner chalked off

Juventus were seemingly on their way to a routine victory following their 2-0 lead over Udinese at halftime.

However, they conspired to throw their lead away, with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny the chief culprit. The Poland international made two schoolboy errors to give Udinese a lifeline and an eventual point on home turf.

Cristiano Ronaldo was introduced midway through the second half, although the Portuguese talisman looked off the pace for most of the match.

He, however, rose highest to head home what he thought was the match-winner in injury time only for the ecstatic celebrations to be halted after a VAR review deemed Ronaldo to have been offside.

Despite the setback, Juventus are still in the running to reclaim the Scudetto and will be keen to get back on track when they host Empoli on Saturday.