Cristiano Ronaldo has said his goodbyes to his Juventus team-mates and will miss training on Friday as he nears an exit from the club.
The 36-year-old spent an hour and a half at Juve’s Continassa training ground on Friday morning to empty his locker and bid farewell to the squad before they took to the pitch for a training session.
Juve boss Massimiliano Allegri confirmed later on Friday that Ronaldo told him he has “no intention” to stay at the club and will not be called up for Saturday’s game against Empoli.
“Yesterday, speaking with Cristiano, he told me that he has no intention to stay at Juventus and for this reason, he will not be called up tomorrow [against Empoli] and he didn’t train this morning,” Allegri said.
“I’m absolutely not disappointed, because Cristiano took his own decision. He was here for three years, he gave his contribution, he put himself at Juventus’ disposal, and now he’s leaving and life goes on.”
Manchester City are in talks to sign the 36-year-old after Sky in Italy reported his agent Jorge Mendes told Juventus on Thursday night he no longer wants to play for the club.
Ronaldo is in the final year of his contract in Turin and the Italian giants are asking any suitor to pay a €25m (£21.3m) transfer fee, which could be a major stumbling block along with his £500,000-per-week wages at the Allianz Stadium.
Juventus are yet to receive an official bid for Ronaldo. There is still some way to go before a deal can be concluded and time is tight to complete a deal before Tuesday’s transfer window deadline.
Sky in Italy are reporting City are willing to offer Ronaldo a two-year contract, with a salary of £12.8m-per-season (€15m).