Juventus Should 'Free' Cristiano Ronaldo As He's An 'Expensive Mistake'

Signing Cristiano Ronaldo was an 'expensive mistake' for Juventus according to former club chairman Giovanni Gigli.

After winning seven Serie A titles in-a-row in 2018, Juventus didn't exactly need to spend a reported €100 million on Ronaldo to keep being successful domestically.

The former Real Madrid star was clearly signed in order to help his side win a first Champions League title since 1996, with the forward having won the title five times himself in that time.

However, on Tuesday, the Old Lady and Ronaldo once again crashed out before the semi-finals when they lost in the last 16 to Porto, thanks in part to the forward's dreadful performance.

Now former Juve chief Gilgli has implored the club to 'free' the 35-year-old from the club this summer.

Asked by Radio Punto Nuovo if signing the five time Ballon d'Or winner was the wrong choice, the 76-year-old said, "Absolutely, yes! I said that on his very first day at Juventus. He is a great champion but is too expensive.

"Now it's up to Juventus. They've been paying him €1 million per goal. [Juventus president Andrea] Agnelli must be self-critical, but he doesn't have great collaborators.

"The club should free Ronaldo at the end of the season and the same goes for [Fabio] Paratici [the club's Chief Football Officer]. Maybe Agnelli had promoted him to remove him from his position afterwards. This could be the scenario."

Ronaldo didn't have a good night on Tuesday. Image: PA Images

Whilst there is no doubt Ronaldo is expensive for the Italian champions, his wages are four times more expensive than anyone else's in the league, he is still showing his importance to Andrea Piro's side.

The former Manchester United winger has scored 92 goals in 121 appearances for the Old Lady and is the top scorer in Serie A this season again.

However it does look like the club will miss out on their 10th league title in-a-row, with the side third place at the moment and 10 points behind league leaders Inter, though they have one game in hand.

Ronaldo has still scored on a regular basis for Juve this season. Image: PA Images

Getting rid of Ronaldo could be tricky with his huge wages, especially considering his wages and the Covid-19 pandemic causing a huge strain on most club's finances.

The former Sporting player was reportedly offered to United and PSG last summer by agent Jorge Mendes but with one year left on his contract his future seems to be in Turin.

Topics: Football, Serie A, porto, Juventus, Champions League, Cristiano Ronaldo

Ryan Sidle

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