The Chief Executive Officer of Juventus, Fabio Paratici, says the Italian Serie A giants are prepared to hold on to Cristiano Ronaldo amid speculation that he might leave the club this summer.
Since Juventus crashed out of the round of 16 stage of the UEFA Champions League this season, the Portuguese football icon has been linked with a return to Real Madrid. Recall that he left the Spanish club to join Juventus in 2018 for a transfer fee worth €117 million.
Though he has not been able to achieve with Juventus as much as he achieved with Real Madrid and Manchester United, the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner has remained one of the best active footballers alive.
This season alone, the 36-year-old Portuguese star has scored a whopping 23 goals and provided two assists in 23 games for Juventus. In all competitions, this season, the 5-time Ballon d’Or winner has scored 30 goals and provided 4 assists in 33 games.
Based on this performance, CEO Fabio Paratici stressed that it is a privilege for Juventus to have a well-decorated football icon like the Portuguese star at the Italian club.
Paratici told Sky Italy that he has never imagined he would ever be involved in such high-profile transfer speculation as the one involving the iconic Cristiano Ronaldo.
“It makes me smile”, Fabio Paratici said. “I never imagined Ronaldo could be put into question. In my career, I never thought I would have to discuss Cristiano Ronaldo, whether his transfer was positive or negative…
“I grew up in a small town in the Bassa Padana region called Borgonovo Val Tidone and I heard people making these type of comments outside the church or in the bars, about Gigi Rivera, Mazzola, Roberto Baggio, Michel Platini. I would have never thought of having one day to discuss these type of matters now at this level.
“This makes me smile. We’re talking about a player who in 2020 scored 41 goals in 38 matches with Juventus.
“He is currently – not five years ago – top scorer in the Serie A. Ronaldo won five Ballon d’Or awards, I don’t know how many Champions League titles.
“It’s a privilege to have him here, and we’ll hold on tight to him. We’re very happy to have him here.”
On Sunday, March 14, Ronaldo scored three goals against Cagliari to become the all-time highest goalscorer in the history of professional football. His 770 total career goals are more than that of Pele’s 767 career goals.
3️⃣ ⚽️@Cristiano #CagliariJuve pic.twitter.com/aIkTtzAI8g
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) March 14, 2021
His performance for Juventus this season has helped Juventus to remain on the third spot on the league table with 55 points in 26 games, 10 points below first placed Inter Milan with a game in hand.
Ronaldo’s contract with Juventus is expected to expire in June 2022 which means that the football star has not more than a full season to spend at the Italian club before he leaves for free if the Serie A club fails to extend his contract before then.
