Serie A

CRISTIANO RONALDO has shared his secret to staying at the top level for over a decade: massages at 2am.
The Juventus star lifted the lid on his unique technique as he was recognised as the Player of the Century at the Dubai Globe Soccer Awards.

Cristiano Ronaldo has shared the secrets for staying at the top levelCredit: AFP

SunSport previously revealed that CR7 chooses to take five 90-minute naps rather than sleep all night.
And the five-time Ballon d’Or winner himself has now revealed he gets massages to recover in the early hours of the morning.
He said: “A few weeks ago they chose the best 11 for the Ballon d’Or and I was there.
“An honor to be here at this gala with these fantastic players like [Iker] Casillas, [Robert] Lewandowski, [Gerard] Pique.

“I am [nearly] 36 years old but I still love football, I love my life and I love my family and children.
“I have been doing the same things and often the same exercises for fifteen years. Sometimes I arrive at 2am, I do a massage at the SPA to recover.
“Iker Casillas is an example for us, when he had his problem he was an example because sometimes we don’t appreciate what we have.”
Ronaldo pipped long-time rival Lionel Messi, 33, and Barcelona legend Ronaldinho to be named as the Player of the Century.

The 35-year-old, who wants to play at the highest level until he is 40, later reaffirmed that he has no plans of slowing down.
He said: “It is an exceptional achievement. It gives me the motivation to move forward.
“To be named the best is a great honour, I hope that this situation is over next year and that we can have more fun, thank you very much.
“I hope to still be able to play for more years.”

Cristiano Ronaldo looks frustrated as the winner of the 2020 Fifa Best Men’s Player is announced More

NICOLAS ANELKA has played for some of the biggest clubs in the world but he admits he got it wrong at Juventus.
After a career that spanned France, England, Turkey, China and India, the former striker has described his stint in Italy as the worst of his career.

Anelka rued the fact all his appearances came away from TurinCredit: PA:Press Association

Signing on a six-month loan from Shanghai Shenhua in January 2013, Anelka played just three times and failed to score as the Bianconeri won the league.
Speaking to TuttoJuve in 2019, the Frenchman, 41, said: “I had decided to accept Juve because it is a great club, with a good history and also because they were leading Serie A.
“Unfortunately, this will remain my worst experience [in football] since I only played 45 minutes and I never wore the shirt at Juventus Stadium in front of the fans.
“Honestly, when someone talks to me about Juventus I try to change the subject immediately… I’m ashamed of that transfer!

“I played and scored for all the teams I signed for, except Juve.
“So without disrespecting that great team, it cannot be said that I was their player because of how that experience went.”
The forward spent the first couple of months on Juve’s bench, all three outings coming off the bench, before injury took him out of a chunk of the run-in.
COACH NIC
Few footballers can boast the trophy cabinet of Anelka, who added the Scudetto to his CV despite the quiet Juventus spell.

He also won league titles with Arsenal, Fenerbahce and Chelsea, a Champions League with Real Madrid, and Euro 2000 with France.
Now retired, Anelka wants to pursue a career in coaching having tried his hand at working with Ligue 1 side Lille’s academy.

The Parisian noted: “I have just finished working for Lille, I was the attacking coach.
“It was a wonderful experience.
“This year I have passed my qualifications and I can finally become a coach.”

The 40-year-old accumulated £108m in transfer fees during his careerCredit: AFP

Juventus ready to pounce for Suarez if Barcelona seal Neymar transfer More

JUVENTUS and AC Milan have reportedly joined the chase for Celtic’s Odsonne Edouard.
The French striker, 22, has been linked with a move away from the Scottish champions for months.

Juventus and AC Milan are chasing Celtic star Odsonne EdouardCredit: Getty

The Hoops managed to hold on to the hotshot last summer, despite plenty of Premier League interest.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta is known to be a fan of the forward.
And both Aston Villa and ex-Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, now in charge of Leicester, would love to bring him south of the border.
However, calciomercato.it now state Edouard will soon have two very tempting offers from Serie A.

Both Juventus and Milan want to strengthen their attack and are believed to be considering making a move.
Juve boss Antonio Conte remains unconvinced by Alvaro Morata and is considering several targets as a replacement.
Meanwhile Milan have 39-year-old Zlatan Ibrahimovic leading their attack.
And Edouard is viewed as a potential long-term replacement for the legendary Swede.

The best available free agents still on the market

A number of other high profile European clubs are also monitoring Edouard’s position.
Celtic were desperate to keep the goalscorer at Parkhead for as long as possible but they could be tempted to cash in next month.
They trail Rangers by 16 points in the race for the title, and a big-money sale would enable them to put that money into a squad overhaul.

Celtic fans party at Parkhead after club’s quadruple treble win – despite being told the players wouldn’t be there More

JUVENTUS boss Andrea Pirlo blasted his squad of stars for already ‘having their minds on holidays’ as they were thumped 3-0 by Fiorentina before Christmas.
The shock home defeat on Tuesday night saw the Serie A champs finish 2020 on a sour note down in sixth place, leaving Cristiano Ronaldo miffed.

Andrea Pirlo slammed his Juventus side for clocking off earlyCredit: EPA

Cristiano Ronaldo was left shocked and disappointed by the displayCredit: Alamy Live News

The Old Lady are ten points behind league leaders AC Milan and conceded after just THREE minutes as Dushan Vlahovic chipped in.
Chelsea flop Juan Cuadrado was sent off for a late lunge after 18 minutes as a VAR check saw his booking upgraded to a straight red.
Pirlo was raging after his ten men stumbled to a 3-0 defeat with Alex Sandro’s late own goal and Martin Caceres’ strike against his old side rubbing salt in the wounds.
He told Sky Sport Italia: “What happened with the red card cannot be used as an alibi.

“The images for the sending off seem clear to me.
“There could have been some decisions in our favour, but that’s not something I want to comment on – you can see for yourself
“The result was not down to Fiorentina’s attitude but the lack of ours.
“When this is the case you face bad situations like this. In games before Christmas it can happen then you have your mind on the holidays. We were unfocused and could not recover.”

Manager Andrea Pirlo only pockets £1.6million-per-year after taking charge of the club

Ronaldo suffered his first defeat of the season after missing the Barcelona loss due to his positive Covid tests and called for better in the New Year on Instagram.
He wrote: “We know that we have to give more of ourselves, in order to play better and to win in a more consistent way. We are Juventus! And we simply cannot accept anything less than excellence on the pitch!”
Not only was the defeat Ronaldo’s first of the season, it equalled his heaviest loss since joining Juventus in 2018 – matching a 3-0 Coppa Italia scoreline against Atalanta in January 2015.
It was also a night to forget for £400,000-a-week ex-Arsenal man Aaron Ramsey.
He was the player sacrificed by boss Andrea Pirlo after just 19 minutes when Cuadrado’s challenge forced a reshuffle with Danilo coming on to play wing-back.
The fuming Welshman booted a water bottle before taking his seat back among the subs for the remainder of the league game.

Cristiano Ronaldo and Pirlo seen together for first time as Juventus begin training ahead of new Serie A season More