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      Cristiano Ronaldo has become ‘nervous, irritable and distant from team-mates’ at Juventus with future in doubt

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      CRISTIANO RONALDO has become ‘nervous and irritable’ at Juventus – and has ‘given up’, according to reports.The 36-year-old has not enjoyed the best season of his career this time around, despite still managing 25 goals in 29 Serie A outings.
      Cristiano Ronaldo, 36, is reportedly unhappy at JuventusCredit: Rex
      And according to Gazzetta dello Sport, his entire demeanour around the club has changed.
      Ronaldo has failed to reach a single Champions League semi-final during his three years in Turin, the competition he was signed to win.
      And this season his side are facing a battle to even qualify for next season’s tournament.
      Juve are currently fourth in Serie A, only ahead of fifth-placed AC Milan on goal difference after winning NINE consecutive titles.
      And Ronaldo is reportedly not helping matters behind the scenes.
      The Portuguese is claimed to be ‘nervous, irritable and very distant from his team-mates’.
      And Gazzetta also allege that he has ‘given up’ on achieving his goals at Juventus – not showing ‘the fight’ that he did at first after his 2018 move from Real Madrid.
      They report that he is not ‘hiding his feelings’ anymore, and that he is ‘isolated’ – getting ‘closer and closer’ to leaving the club.
      Juve were eliminated from the Champions League by Porto last monthCredit: AP
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      Things have ‘got worse’ since Juve’s dramatic Champions League exit at the hands of Porto last month.
      Ronaldo will have one year remaining on his lucrative contract come the end of the season.
      And cash-strapped Juventus are under pressure to get him off the wage bill – particularly if they fail to qualify for the Champions League.
      Real Madrid have distanced themselves from bringing CR7 back to Santiago Bernabeu.
      But Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are thought to be serious contenders to sign the five-time Ballon d’Or winner.
      Ronaldo played 292 times for the Red Devils between 2003 and 2009, scoring 118 goals as he rose to superstardom at Old Trafford.

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      How Juventus could line up under Max Allegri with NO Cristiano Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala taking limelight

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      JUVENTUS are reportedly set to hire old coach Max Allegri and rebuild their squad around Paulo Dybala rather than Cristiano Ronaldo.The Old Lady’s decade of Serie A dominance has come crumbling down under the stewardship of Andrea Pirlo.

      Max Allegri could return for a second spell at JuventusCredit: Getty Images – Getty
      And now the Bianconeri are struggling to even secure the vital fourth Champions League qualifying spot despite having claimed nine Scudettos on the bounce.
      Juve are level on points with Napoli in third and AC Milan in fifth with five games of the season to go and Pirlo has been warned he faces the sack if he fails to secure a spot in Europe’s premier competition.
      Gazzetta reports there is set to be a ‘sweet revolution’ in Turin this summer with 53-year-old Allegri potentially returning to the helm.
      Allegri won five consecutive league titles between 2015 and 2019 in his initial spell at the Allianz Stadium but has been out of work since leaving nearly two years ago.
      He won four domestic doubles in a row and finished with a win percentage of over 70.
      And Allegri is a big a fan of Argentine Dybala as well as Chelsea flop Alvaro Morata who could form the basis of his new attack if Allegri can make his move from Atletico Madrid permanent.
      Ronaldo never got on that well with Allegri and publicly welcomed the arrival of Maurizio Sarri by saying ‘Now we are more attacking’.
      CR7 is unlikely to hang around if he is no longer the main attraction.
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      Manager Andrea Pirlo only pockets £1.6million-per-year after taking charge of the club

      And with Juve in need of cash amid the pandemic and the Portuguese superstar earning £540,000 a week – a rumoured transfer, even back to Manchester United, could be mutually beneficial.
      Allegri could revert to a 4-2-3-1 formation with Morata leading the line and Dybala playing as a No10 in behind.
      Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski may be used as the widemen.
      AS reports Allegri will look to add another central midfielder with Sassuolo’s Italy international Manuel Locatelli a key target and he could end up partnering former Arsenal ace Aaron Ramsey.
      And there is hope Gianluigi Donnarumma may arrive as a free agent after the keeper’s extension talks with AC Milan hit a stumbling block and he could take over as No1 from ex-Gunner Wojciech Szczesny.
      With reports Giorgio Chiellini, 36, could retire at the end of this season, Allegri may partner Matthijs de Ligt with Leonardo Bonucci in the heart of defence with Alex Sandro and another former Chelsea man in Juan Cuadrado as the full-backs.
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      On-loan Chelsea star Fikayo Tomori’s £25m AC Milan transfer ‘in doubt’ after series of costly errors

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      CHELSEA star Fikayo Tomori has nearly blown his chance of making his loan to AC Milan permanent, according to reports.SunSport revealed the centre-back was set to sign for the San Siro outfit for £25million at the end of the season, but after a string of costly errors Milan are said to be having second thoughts.
      Fikayo Tomori’s permanent transfer to AC Milan is at risk after some mistakesCredit: Getty
      Tomori joined Milan on loan in January.
      And the 23-year-old England ace had been outstanding in defence for the Italian giants – cementing a place in their starting XI.
      But club officials believe he has ‘crumbled’ and made ‘too many errors of late’, according to Gazzetta dello Sport.
      In the last fortnight, Tomori handed Genoa’s Mattia Destro the equaliser in Milan’s 2-1 win.
      He was also at fault during Sassuolo’s 2-1 victory at the San Siro last week, as well as in the recent 3-0 drubbing at the hands of Lazio.
      Blame is being spread among the Milan squad but Tomori is reportedly considered ‘much more responsible than others’.
      Tomori met with Milan directors Frederic Massara and Paolo Maldini on Wednesday and discussed his future.
      The feeling at Milan is still that they would like to make the deal permanent – but the owners are reportedly going to take a little more convincing after recent events.
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      SunSport understands the Rossoneri have a £25m option to buy Tomori at the end of the season, through a clause inserted in his loan.
      But due to the coronavirus pandemic, AC are struggling financially and are looking to negotiate a lower fee.
      And Blues boss Thomas Tuchel has been keeping tabs on the ex-Derby loanee and mulling over his plans for him in the coming years.
      Earlier this season, Maldini said: “Fikayo is a player with particular characteristics, pace and intensity.
      “From a physical standpoint we believe he’s a guy who can make the difference.
      “He has this ability to be aggressive and defend in a back four. Football is headed more and more in the direction of teams playing man to man.
      “Within that, though, it’s still important to stay compact and not lose your shape. Tomori is able to do both of these things very well.”
      Elsewhere, AC Milan could put Alessio Romagnoli up for sale this summer to raise much-needed transfer funds.
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      Patrice Evra trolls Cristiano Ronaldo as he shows off abs in topless photo and tells old Man Utd pal ‘don’t be jealous’

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      PATRICE EVRA poked fun at old Manchester United team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo with a topless photo on Instagram.The Frenchman showed off his impressive abs in the snap and told Ronnie: “Don’t be jealous.”
      Patrice Evra uploaded this impressive topless photo on Instagram
      And he poked fun at his old team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo who is partial to flashing his own abs online
      Evra, 39, and Ronaldo, 36, were Old Trafford team-mates from 2006 when the left-back joined from Monaco.
      Having played together for two-and-a-half-years, the pair struck up a real bond both on and off the pitch.
      And they remain friends despite their careers taking different paths.
      On Thursday, the Frenchman uploaded the shot of himself leaning against the bath with some flowery trousers on.
      His physique looks outstanding and he captioned the post: “No alcohol ❌ no smoke 🚬 ❌ healthy food 🥘 ✅ then you can pose like @cristiano before a nice hot bath 🛁.
      “Don’t be jealous bro I just wanna share 😂😂🔥🙏🏽 #ilovethisgame #postive4evra #fit #healthylifestyle.”
      Ronaldo has an incredible physique and is a notoriously dedicated professional, which Evra has always been quick to acknowledge.
      And one of the former West Ham left-back’s most famous anecdotes is when he went to Ronaldo’s house after training at United only to be roped into another session.
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      Speaking to ITV in 2018, he said: “I would give advice to anybody, when Cristiano invites you for lunch at his house, just say no.
      “He once said, ‘Patrice, come over after training.’
      “I went, you know I was really tired, and at the table there was only salad and plain white chicken so I was like, OK, and water, not any juice.
      “We started eating and I was thinking some big meat would be coming after that but there was nothing.
      “He just finished and he stood up and he started playing with a ball, doing some skills and he said, ‘Let’s do some two-touch’.”
      Evra added: “I was like, can I just finish eating? He said ‘No, no let’s play two-touch.’
      “We start playing two-touch. After that he said let’s go to the pool to swim, I was like OK… after going in the jacuzzi, the sauna, I’m done.
      “I say, ‘Cristiano why have we come here, have we come here because we have a game tomorrow, or just for lunch?’.
      “So that’s why I would recommend to anyone when Cristiano invites you to his house, don’t go – just say no because this guy, he’s a machine, he doesn’t want to stop training.”
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      Luke Shaw’s blistering Man Utd form is because ‘confidence is back’ and warns Roma’s Smalling he won’t go easy on him

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      LUKE SHAW has warned former Manchester United team-mate Chris Smalling he won’t go easy on him during the Red Devils’ Europa League semi-final against Roma.The left-back also said his outstanding United form is down to the return of his confidence.
      Luke Shaw is full of confidence again which is why he is playing so well for Man UtdCredit: Getty
      Shaw also issued a warning to former team-mate Chris SmallingCredit: Getty
      United host the Serie A side in the first-leg of the Europa League semi-final on Thursday night.
      Shaw is playing the best football of his career and says he is loving being out on the pitch again.
      The 25-year-old said: “My form has been much improved, I’m enjoying my football. I’ve got my confidence back and I’m just loving playing football again.
      “Personally it’s nice for me to have a good season but that doesn’t really matter if we don’t have a successful season and that is to win a trophy.
      “If we don’t win a trophy and I’ve still had a good season I’ll be disappointed because the most important thing – and it’s why we play for a big club like Manchester United – is to win trophies.
      “Yeah I’ve been good but I want to help the team push for this trophy and cap off a great season and one I’ll be happy with if we do win the trophy.”
      Shaw’s former team-mate Smalling spent 10 years on the Old Trafford books since he signed from Fulham in 2010 and played 323 games and scored 18 goals for the Reds.
      He joined Roma on loan in August 2019 before making the switch permanent last October.
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      Former Red Devil Henrikh Mkhitaryan also plays for the Italian side but Shaw has no time for sentiment ahead of the European showdown.
      He added: “Mkhi and Chris, I was here with both of them, and I really missed them when they left, they were really good guys and brilliant players.
      “It’ll be really nice to see them, they’ve both been doing really well. They’ve both been a bit unfortunate with injuries but they’re back fit now and they will obviously make their team much stronger than before.
      “I’m looking forward to seeing them tonight but the game is the most important, so we won’t be friends during it but maybe after we’ll have a chat.”
      But asked if he will be taking it easy against his old mates, Shaw was emphatic.
      He added: “No, there’s none of that. We’re all professionals and it’s our job, we’re doing it for ourselves but also the fans so it’s very important to keep being professional.
      “It’ll be very nice to see them but we’ll leaving the talking until after. We need to win the game and doing everything to win it.”
      Watch the UEFA Europa League exclusively live on BT Sport, with coverage of Manchester United v Roma from 7.15pm this evening on BT Sport 2. Sign up for BT Sport Monthly Pass to watch BT Sport for a simple monthly fee of £25 with no contract. For more info go to bt.com/sport
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      Juventus chief Agnelli ‘didn’t know’ about Luis Suarez’s ‘farce’ Italian citizenship exam before failed transfer

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      JUVENTUS president Andrea Agnelli has insisted he knew nothing of a plot to aid Luis Suarez’s transfer by cheating on a citizenship test.Italian prosecutors are investigating the Serie A club after finding that the striker, 34, already knew the answers to an exam he sat in September.
      Andrea Agnelli’s evidence in the Luis Suarez exam fiasco has been revealedCredit: AFP
      It was deemed necessary for the player to gain citizenship after it emerged he was not an EU citizen and therefore did not fit into Juve squad quotas.
      The transfer collapsed and Suarez later signed for Atletico Madrid.
      The issue has not gone away for Juventus amid an investigation into what exactly went on when he arrived at University of Perugia for the exam.
      A handful of staff members from the university were suspended in December after it was found that the answers had been passed on before the test.
      And a number of Juventus chiefs have since given evidence, with club president Agnelli’s testimony revealed by Corriere della Sera.
      The Italian, 45, is said to have claimed that he knew nothing of the test and that in charge of the deal was managing director Fabio Paratici, who denies any wrongdoing.
      He is quoted as saying: “Paratici has ample delegation within the limits of the assigned budget.
      “He is responsible for the club’s choices in relation to the recruitment of the players. Of course, he informs me occasionally and casually.”
      Suarez took the citizenship test on September 17 and was later found to have cheatedCredit: EPA
      Agnelli reportedly detailed a text message from Suarez to vice-chairman Pavel Nedved to signify the player’s desire for a move from Barcelona.
      He added: “I remember that during a lunch held at the end of August, Nedved told me that the Barcelona player had proposed moving to Juventus via text message.
      “At that time, negotiations were underway for [Edin] Dzeko, [Arkadiusz] Milik, [Edinson] Cavani and [Alvaro] Morata, who was later signed, in addition to the hypothesis relating to Suarez.
      “At the beginning of September I was informed that Suarez’s move was difficult because it turned out that he did not have EU citizenship.”
      Agnelli then asserted that he had learned of the test fiasco ‘from the newspapers’ before wishing Suarez well when the deal collapsed.
      However, investigators highlighted an email from the time of the deal, which Agnelli confirmed that he had received.
      Agnelli said: “I don’t remember that mail.
      “However, I do not deal with the contractual conditions as the negotiations are overseen by the sports department within the limits of the budget.
      I don’t remember if I was informed about the exam. I knew about it from the newspapers.Andrea Agnelli

      “I have checked now and found that the email had been sent, however I still do not remember receiving it.
      “I don’t remember if I was informed about the exam. I knew about it from the newspapers and I remember I called the player once to thank him for his interest.”
      The report outlines how the Juventus chief’s evidence may not line up with the recollection of former club manager Maurizio Lombardo, who insisted that Paratici told him to contact Agnelli before the exam.
      He stated in his evidence: “The president never replied to my email, but Paratici told me he’d spoken to him and I could proceed in dealing with [Suarez’s lawyer, Ivan] Zaldua.”
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      Atletico Madrid offer Alvaro Morata for Paulo Dybala in Juventus swap transfer as alternative to £39m permanent fee

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      ATLETICO MADRID have offered Alvaro Morata to Juventus in a swap deal for Paulo Dybala, according to reports in Italy.The Serie A giants are facing huge uncertainty ahead of the summer as Andrea Pirlo’s side struggles to qualify for the Champions League.
      Paulo Dybala could be sold this summer ahead of his contract expiringCredit: Getty
      Juventus have reportedly been offered loanee Alvaro Morata for the ArgentineCredit: Rex
      And the futures of both loanee Morata and Dybala, out of contract in 2022, must be sorted against this backdrop.
      Juve have the option to permanently sign the Spanish striker for £39million or extend his loan deal for another year, at a cost of £8.7m.
      Tuttosport detail an Atletico bid to replace that fee with a straight swap for Dybala.
      The report suggests an exchange could be negotiated to allow Juventus an additional fee as part of the deal.
      The Italians may be forced to consider cashing in on 27-year-old Dybala if they cannot agree on a new contract.
      Talks are set to begin next month despite his paltry tally of four goals for the season, with Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United among the clubs reportedly interested in him.
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      Losing Dybala for free would be unpalatable and the player has already spoken openly of a possible move to Spain.
      He said last week: “I have received calls from Atletico.
      “Not directly for myself, they have called my agent.
      “[They] call the player or those around him to find out his situation or how he is at the club. These discussions sometimes last three days or six months.
      “Alvaro comes from there and has spoken very highly of the club, the city, the people, the fans… Atletico are a big club today.”
      Morata, 28, joined the Old Lady from Atletico last year and recently admitted to wanting to remain in Turin ‘for life’.

      He stated: “Everyone knows that I would stay here for life, but football is a business and sometimes footballers don’t have the choice.
      “I am a professional and I will give it my all until I am here, where I am very happy.”
      Juve may attempt an alternative route in the player-exchange market with PSG’s Mauro Icardi said to be another swap option.
      Likewise, the Ligue 1 side’s Everton loanee Moise Kean is named as a favourite for another stint at the club, with Adrien Rabiot or Merih Demiral potentially heading in the opposite direction.
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      Chelsea line up £90m Romelu Lukaku return as Blues accept defeat in Erling Haaland transfer pursuit

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      CHELSEA will step up plans to re-sign Romelu Lukaku in a £90million-plus deal.Inter Milan’s star is seen as the most achievable of boss Thomas Tuchel’s targets.
      Thomas Tuchel wants Romelu Lukaku to lead the line for Chelsea next season after the Blues accept defeat in the chase for Erling HaalandCredit: Getty
      Lukaku is on a list that includes Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, but the young Norwegian star looks out of reach with Manchester City in pursuit.
      So the Blues are turning to a player with proven Premier League experience, firstly with them seven years ago, followed by spells at West Brom, on loan, Everton and Manchester United.
      Chelsea believe they need a strong centre-forward to lead the team next season.
      And frustration with current striker Timo Werner is also growing after Tuesday’s 1-1 Champions League semi-final first-leg draw at Real Madrid.
      The German, 25, missed a golden chance to score, just like he did at West Ham three days earlier.
      And the £48m forward is failing to convince Tuchel he is the man to spearhead Chelsea’s attack for the next few years.
      At 27, Lukaku is at his peak.
      He has scored 27 goals for Inter this term and is considered mentally strong enough to handle leading the line for a club like Chelsea next season.
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      Tammy Abraham, 23, failed to persuade Tuchel he is what Chelsea needs, despite being top scorer with 12 goals this season.
      He is being linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge this summer with West Ham favourites to sign him.
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