Will Cristiano Ronaldo now stay at Juventus after his current employers sealed Champions League qualification on Sunday?
Speculation is rife that Ronaldo wants to leave Juve, who needed results to go their way over the weekend in order to secure a top-four finish.
Juve just about got the job done. They finished fourth in the Serie A table after they defeated Bologna 4-1 while Napoli only managed to draw 1-1 against Hellas Verona.
And they did it without Ronaldo, who Andrea Pirlo controversially left on the bench for the entire 90 minutes.
In what was Juve’s most important match of the entire season, it was a huge surprise that Ronaldo wasn’t selected to start the game. That he then remained on the bench until full-time was also a shock.
Was Ronaldo benched because he's set to leave Juventus?
Was this because Ronaldo was a bit tired, as some reports have suggested? Was this purely a tactical decision from Pirlo? Or was this because Ronaldo has decided he wants to leave Juventus this summer?
Reports last week claim Ronaldo is ‘closer than ever’ to a return to Manchester United, the club he left for Real Madrid 12 years ago, following talks with Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Ronaldo still managed to set a new record
If he does leave Juve this summer, Ronaldo can now proudly boast that he has finished as top scorer in England, Spain and Italy.
Despite not playing against Bologna, the 36-year-old ended the 2020-21 campaign as Serie A’s leading scorer with 29 goals.
Ronaldo becomes the first player in history to finish as the top scorer in the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.
After hearing about Cristiano’s latest record, broadcaster Piers Morgan took the opportunity to explain why his footballing hero is the GOAT (Greatest of All-Time) ahead of Barcelona legend Lionel Messi.
“Messi’s a genius but he’s never challenged himself in different leagues like Ronaldo," Morgan tweeted. "That’s why @Cristiano is the Goat.”
Morgan’s tweet has gone viral, receiving over 3,700 retweets and 19.5k ‘likes’ at the time of writing.
It’s clear that many football fans agree with the former Good Morning Britain presenter.
Meanwhile, Ronaldo was congratulated on his latest achievement by Bayern Munich and Germany forward Thomas Muller, who tweeted: “Bravo, Cristiano”.
Messi may not have won the top scorer award in three different countries but he has just won the Pichichi (Spain’s top scorer award) for the fifth time in a row, which is nothing short of remarkable.
The 33-year-old is poised to extend his stay with Barcelona beyond this summer following months of speculation over his future.