Juventus would like to add one more year to the contract of Cristiano Ronaldo, which would push its expiration date to June of 2023, Tuttosport reports. Director Fabio Paratici is constantly in touch with his agent Jorge Mendes, but the matter is at its early stages and has not been fully discussed between the two parties. An extension would benefit the balance sheets even if the salary stayed the same as it would prolong the amortization of the investment.
Ronaldo is enjoying his most prolific season with the Old Lady yet, having found the target 22 times in 23 appearances. After scoring twice against Inter in Tuesday’s Coppa Italia tilt, he is now the player with the most braces across Europe, as he has already netted eight, one more than Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski.
According to Gazzetta dello Sport, the Portuguese ace has immediately built a strong bond with rookie coach Andrea Pirlo. The manager defended him in the recent controversy related to possible infractions of the COVID-related travelling restrictions, saying that the players are free to act as they prefer outside of the training center. He also took the liberty of replacing him with 15 minutes to go in the clash with the Nerazzurri, something that has almost never happened before, pointing out that the striker’s contract does not have a clause saying that he can not be substituted.
Ronaldo has been linked to a number of teams in previous months, such as PSG, Real Madrid and Manchester United, but he has not offered any hints about his future besides often expressing his desire to play out the rest of his current deal with Juventus.