Juventus find themselves in difficult situations on and off the pitch despite Giorgio Chiellini’s declaration about the club’s post-Cristiano Ronaldo future after his return to Manchester United
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Giorgio Chiellini’s defiant message to Cristiano Ronaldo is at risk of backfiring as the crisis at Juventus worsens.
Ronaldo left the Italian giants to return to Manchester United last month and he may be thinking he got out just in time.
Juve’s latest financial report makes for bleak reading, with the club making losses of €209.9million (£179.1m) over the last year as the impact of the coronavirus pandemic hits home.
Things are not much better on the pitch, either, with Massimiliano Allegri still waiting for his first win in Serie A since returning as manager to replace Andrea Pirlo this summer.
Having given up their stranglehold on the title to Inter Milan last season, Juventus drew with Udinese on the opening day this campaign before losing to Empoli and Napoli to leave them 16th.
Despite the dismal run of form, club captain Chiellini declared his side would “carry on” without Ronaldo, who scored 101 goals during three seasons in Turin.
“When you have a world class player like Cristiano, you cannot help but use the team to play for him,” the 37-year-old told DAZN per Football Italia .
“We must be grateful to Cristiano for all he did during these years at Juventus, but we carry on.
“This will be Paulo Dybala’s team. Over the last couple of years, he lowered his average goals because of Cristiano’s presence, but he is a key player for this team and that is recognised by everyone.”
Juventus registered their first win of the season with a 3-0 victory at Malmo in the Champions League in midweek.
Can Juventus recover from their dismal start to win Serie A? Comment below.
But they were brought crashing down to earth by their financial report, which raises questions of their ability to sign big-name players or keep hold of the ones already on their books.
Ronaldo, meanwhile, has adapted to life back at United seamlessly, scoring three goals in two games.
The 36-year-old is desparate to add to his trophy cabinet in the latter stages of his career and, at present, it seems far more likely he will do so at Old Trafford rather than the Allianz Stadium.
Ronaldo won back-to-back Serie A titles with Juventus after joining for £99million from Real Madrid in 2018.
Although Inter clinched the title under Antonio Conte last season, the Old Lady picked up the Coppa Italia to ease the blow.
But it appears Allegri has a major rebuilding job to do in the post-Ronaldo era, just as Juventus chiefs must address their financial losses.
In contrast, pundits including Gary Neville expect Ronaldo’s return to United will see them mount a strong challenge for the Premier League title.
