Juventus Identify Cristiano Ronaldo's Replacement If They Fail To Make Champions League Next Season

Juventus are poised to make a move for Antoine Griezmann in the summer should Cristiano Ronaldo make his sensational exit from the club, according to reports.

The Old Lady failed to defend the Serie A title this season as Antonio Conte's Inter Milan side were crowned champions of Italy.

And now Juventus face the threat of missing out on Champions League football next season as they sit outside the top four going into their final match of the current campaign.

The Italian side are fifth and are one point behind fourth-place Napoli and third-place AC Milan ahead of their clash with Bologna at the Renato Dall'Ara on Sunday.

Spanish newspaper Sport initially reported that Juventus would turn their attention to Griezmann as a suitable replacement for Ronaldo if they fail to make the top four.

Now, Italian newspaper La Stampa has claimed that such a transfer idea is 'in the works' at Juventus.

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Ronaldo, whose current deal with the Old Lady will expire in 2022, has been at Juventus since he left Real Madrid in 2018.

However, the 36-year-old Portuguese superstar's future in Turin has remained uncertain amid intense transfer speculation linking him with Manchester United and Sporting CP.

Griezmann has been with Barcelona since 2019 after the Spanish club paid Atletico Madrid his £107m buyout clause.

The 30-year-old French forward has been heavily criticised for failing to replicate his Atletico form at the Camp Nou.

Griezmann's current deal with Barcelona will expire in 2024, but the 2018 World Cup winner has been linked with a potential return to Atletico and attracted interest from Liverpool.

Sporting president Frederico Varandas hasn't ruled out the idea of Ronaldo returning to his boyhood club in the future.

"I think he will play here one day," he told Sic Noticias.

"Cristiano was among the first to send me a message to congratulate us for the championship victory.

"Now, however, he has another year on his contract with Juve and I know he wants to continue competing to win the Champions League.

"Obviously, his return here depends on him: in addition to being a great player, Cristiano is a great fan of Sporting."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: Football, Serie A, Antoine Griezmann, Juventus, Cristiano Ronaldo, Italy

Adnan Riaz

Adnan Riaz is a journalist for SPORTbible. He studied for a B.A. in History at the University of York and followed it up with an M.A. in Multimedia Journalism at MMU. Before he started writing about sports, he spent over four years in the gaming press. He has worked for several publications, including Hardcore Gamer, LADbible and the Manchester Evening News. Follow him on Twitter to find out what he is working on next. Got a story tip for Adnan? Email him: [email protected]

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