Juventus’ Director of Football, Fabio Paratici, on Monday stated that it was not easy to replace forward, Cristiano Ronaldo, as he also dismissed a return to Italy for Manchester United midfielder, Paul Pogba.
Ronaldo joined Juventus from Real Madrid last summer for 100 million euros.
Pogba, on the other hand, joined United from Juventus for a then world-record fee of £89 million in 2016, and has been linked with a move away from Old Trafford following his relationship with the Red Devils manager, Jose Mourinho.
“Ronaldo is probably the best player in the history of the game so he isn’t easy to replace,” Paratici was quoted by New Straits Times as saying at the Manlio Scopigno ceremony at Rieti in central Italy after receiving a “Manager of the Year” award.
“We talked about it initially, and straight away we got the feeling he wanted to join us, which was a huge advantage.
“Real Madrid had a gentleman’s agreement with him, the ownership kicked things off and negotiations began,” he added.
Paratici also expressed Juventus’ support for Ronaldo, who is currently embroiled in damaging rape allegations.
“Cristiano is a very simple person and an excellent professional, he has all our support,” he said.
Paratici also ruled out a return of Pogba, who played for the Turin side from 2012 to 2016.
According to him, “We love Pogba very much.
“We want him to do well since we are close to him but he isn’t a Juve player anymore.
“We’re connected to him, but we’ve never thought about it and we’re not going to think about it.”
Comments