Cristiano Ronaldo set to be unveiled by Juventus on Saturday if £88million transfer from Real Madrid goes through
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Loading... - Tristan Lahm
- 06 Jul 2021
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Juventus want to complete a deal for Cristiano Ronaldo on Friday so he can be presented to fans over the weekend.
The Serie A giants have tabled an £88million bid for the Portugal captain and the two clubs remain locked in talks.
Juve have agreed personal terms with Ronaldo and are trying to thrash out a deal with Real Madrid on Friday.
If the transfer is completed, Sky Italia claim the 33-year-old will be unveiled at the Juventus Stadium in Turin on Saturday.
Ronaldo will be "eternally grateful" to Real Madrid if he decides to call time on his nine-year stay with the European champions, according to his agent Jorge Mendes.
He told Portuguese newspaper Record: "If this happens it will simply be a new stage, a new challenge in his brilliant career.
"If Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid, he will be eternally grateful to the club, the president, all the directors, the medical staff, all the staff without exception, as well as all the Madrid fans around the world."
Ronaldo has regularly been linked with a move away from Madrid, but speculation has intensified in the wake of comments he made after the team's Champions League final win over Liverpool in May.
Speaking to beIN Sports, Ronaldo said immediately following the 3-1 victory in Kiev: "In the coming days there will be an answer about my future for the fans, who have always been by my side. It has been very nice playing for Real Madrid."
Despite suggesting he would reveal more soon, the 33-year-old, who has been on World Cup duty with Portugal, has not publicly commented on his future since that match.
However, the last couple of days has seen increased media reports of an impending divorce between Madrid and their all-time record goalscorer, who joined the Spanish giants in a then-world record £80million move from Manchester United in 2009.
Various clubs had been linked with Ronaldo, but Juve have seemingly emerged as front-runners in a deal which could see the Italian champions splash out £88m on the five-time Ballon d'Or award winner.
That would smash Juve's existing record transfer record, which was the £75m they spent to sign Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in 2016.
While Ronaldo's Madrid future remains in the air, the LaLiga powerhouses have continued their preparations for next season with the signing of Spain defender Alvaro Odriozola from Real Sociedad.
The 22-year-old right-back will put pen-to-paper on a six-year contract with Madrid, subject to a medical, the club announced on Thursday.
Reports in Spain say Madrid have paid in the region of 35 million euros (£31m) for Odriozola, who becomes the club's first new signing since Julen Lopetegui replaced Zinedine Zidane as head coach.
Lopetegui included Odriozola in his Spain squad for this summer's World Cup, but the San Sebastian-born full-back did not feature in any of the team's four matches as they were knocked out at the last-16 stage.
Lopetegui was sacked on the eve of the tournament after accepting the Madrid job, with Fernando Hierro taking charge.
