Juventus’ players were back to training on Monday ahead of their game against Sassuolo on Wednesday evening. However, Cristiano Ronaldo, their star man, was not present. Instead, Ronaldo attended Ferrari’s Formula One headquarters at Maranello.
The Old Lady welcomed AC Milan to the Allianz Stadium on Sunday evening in a huge clash. With both sides on 69 points going into the game, Juventus needed a positive result to retain their place in the top four.
According to ESPN, Ronaldo made the visit with Juventus president Andrea Agnelli and John Elkann, Exor president and Ferrari chairman. And it has been reported that this has annoyed Ronaldo’s Juventus teammates.
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, per Football Italia, Ronaldo is now said to be ‘isolated’ in the Juventus dressing room. Ronaldo relationship with his teammates is said to have ‘soured’ in recent months, with many believing he’s been given too much freedom.
The 36-year-old’s trip to Ferrari’s headquarters isn’t the first time he’s missed training. He’s also missed Ronaldo other training sessions this season for sponsorships reasons. And many of Ronaldo’s teammates think it’s unfair that he’s treated differently to other players.
Ronaldo’s future has been a talking point in recent months with reports claiming he could leave in the summer. But Pavel Nedved, Juve’s vice-chairman, has dismissed those rumours.
“For me, Ronaldo can’t be touched,” Nedved told DAZN in March. “He has a contract until June 30, 2022 and will stay. What happens after that remains to be seen.”