Juventus chief Agnelli denies Ronaldo will walk away despite UCL exit

 Juventus chief Andrea Agnelli has denied claims that Cristiano Ronaldo will look to force a move away from the club following their Champions League exit.

The Portuguese suffered an exit at the last-

16 stage of the competition for the first time 

since 2010 despite scoring both goals in 

their 2-1 win against Lyon on the night.

The Serie A champions were knocked out on 

the away goals rule having suffered a 1-0 

defeat in the French city before the outbreak 

of the coronavirus pandemic.

Prior to Friday night's second leg, a report 

from France Football suggested the 35-year-

old had been looking to push through a move 

to Paris Saint-Germain before the Covid-19 

outbreak to form a 'dream' partnership with 

Neymar and Kylian Mbappe.

It was claimed the former Real Madrid star 

had become frustrated with the lack of 

progress the club were making, and despite 

Juventus' barren run in the Champions 

League continuing, Agnelli believes the 

report was the result of media mischief.

'I am entirely convinced he will stay,' Agnelli 

told Sky Sport Italia.

'I think the report was down to an interview 

from several months ago, which just 

happened to be published just before we 

played against a French team. It's an old 

media trick.

'No, I can assure you that Ronaldo remains a 

pillar of Juventus.'

Agnelli also praised Ronaldo's performance 

on Friday night but insisted the club must 

now focus on achieving success on two 

fronts next season.

'This season has been evidently bittersweet. 

It has been a very difficult campaign, we 

achieved a great result winning our ninth 

consecutive campaign and wrote a fantastic 

chapter in the history books,' Agnelli 

continued.

'Maurizio deserves his own extraordinary 

page for himself, going from the amateur 

leagues to winning the Scudetto.

'In the Champions League, obviously, it's 

disappointing for us, for the players and the 

fans. As I said several times in recent years, 

the Champions league was a dream, now it 

has to be an objective.

'Going out like this is going to be a huge 

disappointment. We will take the next few 

days to consider, evaluate and decide how to 

go forward next season.

'Juventus have these objectives, they have to 

be honoured, both domestically and in 

Europe. We have the best player in the

history of the Champions League, which he 

proved again tonight, and we must start 

again with renewed enthusiasm.'