Cristiano Ronaldo's hat-trick for Portugal has neatly glossed over his alleged outburst at Maurizio Sarri. 

The Juventus boss recently substituted the forward in the 55th minute in the 1-0 win over AC Milan - the earliest he has been hauled off since he joined the Old Lady from Real Madrid.

That came days after he was also replaced against Lokomotiv Moscow in the Champions League, despite the scores being level at 1-1. 

Sarri is doing his best to manage the 34-year-old's fitness. 

The Bianconeri also maintain that the Portuguese star has been nursing a knee injury, something which he himself denied while on international duty. 

As it turned out, Sarri's decision in the Milan match was vindicated as the man he brought on, Paulo Dybala, scored the winner 22 minutes later. 

That proved no consolation to Ronaldo, however, as it was widely reported that he left the stadium before the game had finished - in contravention of Serie A rules. 

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner could also have got himself in serious trouble with his employers as it was believed he called Sarri a "son of a w****". 

However, Tuttosport cite Portuguese lip-reading experts who claim he simply said "what the f***", rather than insulting his manager directly. 

That explains why he has essentially got away with it. Juventus will not fine him, nor will they drop him for any upcoming games. 

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, he will instead be made to sit down with the hierarchy - including vice-chairman Pavel Nedved and sporting director Fabio Paratici - for talks about his attitude. 

That is being arranged through his agent, Jorge Mendes, with Ronaldo to be told in no uncertain terms that he is expected to apologise to his teammates. 

All this provides quite the contrast to Ronaldo's mood while in the Portuguese national camp. He has now scored 98 for his country following his treble against Lithuania and is chasing down Ali Daei's international record of 109. 

His situation under Sarri, who famously had issues with player discipline at Chelsea, most notably with Kepa Arrizabalaga, could not be more different.