MILAN, Nov 11, 2019 (BSS/AFP) – Cristiano Ronaldo reportedly left the
Allianz Stadium before the final whistle of Juventus’ 1-0 Serie A win over AC
Milan on Sunday after being substituted for the second match in a week.
Paulo Dybala replaced Ronaldo on 55 minutes with the Argentina striker
going on to score the winning goal 22 minutes later to keep Juventus top in
Serie A ahead of Inter Milan.
Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo looked glum as he came off and
directed some words at coach Maurizio Sarri before heading to the changing
rooms and Sky Sport Italia reported that the 34-year-old had left the stadium
three minutes before the match finished.
However Sarri said he did not know whether Ronaldo had left the stadium
early.
“Disrespectful to his teammates? Like I said, I don’t know,” Sarri said.
“If it’s true that he left before the end it is a problem to be resolved with
his teammates.”
“I have no problem with Cristiano, he should be thanked because he made
himself available despite not being in the best condition,” said Sarri.
“In the last month he has had discomfort in his knee and this is a little
problem for him.”
Ronaldo had reacted furiously after been substituted in his team’s 2-1 win
against Lokomotiv Moscow midweek which saw Juventus advance to the Champions
League last 16.
“The important thing is that he made himself available. If he gets angry
when he comes out this is part of the game,” continued the Juventus coach.
“It’s only natural a player is going to be irritated about leaving the
pitch, especially when he worked so hard to be there.
“All players who are trying to give their best will have at least five
minutes of being annoyed when they are substituted, but a coach would in
general be much more worried if he didn’t seem upset.”