TURIN, Italy – There are no signs Cristiano Ronaldo will leave Juventus, the club’s football director said, dismissing speculation that the prolific goalscorer could move to another club.
“We are very happy that Ronaldo will rejoin the team once the rest period after the European Championship is over,” Federico Cherubini said according to Reuters.
Ronaldo, current top scorer at Euro 2020 after his five goals for Portugal, has scored 101 for Juventus in three seasons.
“There has been no sign from Ronaldo about a possible move and no sign from Juve,” Cherubini said.
Ronaldo remains “pivotal” for Juventus, Cherubini added at a news conference, saying, however, that he did not have a crystal ball to predict the future.
“But let me reaffirm I’ll be happy if he stays.”
Cherubini said Juventus were already “competitive” and would not be very active on this summer’s transfer window.
“But we’ll stay vigilant to pick opportunities in line with the technical and financial parameters of our plan,” he said.
Juventus Chairman Andrea Agnelli added he was “absolutely certain” the club will participate in the 2021-2022 Champions League despite fallout from the club’s backing of a controversial Super League in Europe.
On Wednesday the Serie A club said it planned to raise up to 400 million euros ($475 million) in a new share issue to offset the hit to finances from the Covid-19 pandemic.
Juventus also said that it had appointed former Ferrari racing team principal Maurizio Arrivabene as its chief executive officer for football as part of a broader revamp of its sporting management structure.
Arrivabene, meanwhile, explained why he accepted his role as Juventus’ Football Area Manager: ‘It’s a challenge and I like challenges.’
Arrivabene, 64, was appointed to manage the Football Area at Juventus and was unveiled on Wednesday with the new Director of Football Federico Cherubini.
“This is a very exciting challenge. I like challenges and I like Juventus, even as a fan,” Arrivabene said.
“It’s a perfect match for me at this point in my career. If a team is successful, it automatically becomes beautiful. If you lose you can still be beautiful, but you are much less so,” the former Ferrari Team Principal added. “Arrivabene’s skills will be integrated by those of Nedved and Cherubini,” explained Juventus President Agnelli.
“His CV speaks for itself. He will be able to bring a decisive element of management into the sporting area. As for Cherubini: it is a point of pride for the company. He is the first high-level manager internally trained. He will be in charge of all the teams.”
