Would sign Cristiano Ronaldo again, says Juventus president Andrea Agnelli

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has said that no regrets over signing Cristiano Ronaldo, while also defending his decision to appoint Andrea Pirlo as the Bianconeri manager.

Agnelli has come under fire in recent times for the Old Lady’s poor run of form and some of his decisions have been questioned. The Juventus president brought Cristiano Ronaldo to Turin in the summer of 2018, hoping to win the UEFA Champions League. While the Portuguese has been prolific since his move, the Bianconeri have failed to progress past the quarter-finals of the tournament since his arrival.

Another of Agnelli’s controversial decisions was sacking Maurizio Sarri after he had won Serie A and replacing him with the untested Pirlo. That move has come back to haunt him, as Juventus have all but surrendered their Serie A trophy this season. To make matters worse, despite the continuous goalscoring exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo, the Bianconeri are not guaranteed a UEFA Champions League spot at the moment.

Agnelli, however, has no regrets about his decisions. The Juventus manager, instead, has defended his actions and even stated that if he was given a choice, he would sign Cristiano Ronaldo all over again. Agnelli even claimed that the Portuguese had helped the finances of the Serie A.

“When we brought Cristiano to Italy, his presence alone guaranteed the other clubs €4M. Would I do it all again? Of course, it was never wrong to get Cristiano and same goes for Pirlo” said Agnelli.

There have been calls to replace Pirlo and also sell Cristiano Ronaldo, whose astronomical salary is reportedly causing a dent in the club’s finances. If Agnelli’s words are to be believed, it seems unlikely that Juventus will part ways with either of the two. But all that could change overnight if the Bianconeri fail to finish within the top four of the Serie A table.

Cristiano Ronaldo can help Juventus secure a top-four finish

Juventus are currently fourth in the league, 13 points behind Inter Milan and two points ahead of Napoli in fifth. With seven games left to play in the current season, the Bianconeri will be hoping that Cristiano Ronaldo can help secure UEFA Champions League football next season.

The Portuguese has 32 goals from 37 games so far, but looks set to finish the season without the Serie A title for the first time since arriving in Italy. Cristiano Ronaldo’s future might also hang in the balance if Juventus fail to qualify for the Champions League.

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Edited by S Chowdhury