Published 21:15 IST, November 24th 2020
Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't get any special treatment at Juventus, claims manager Pirlo
Andre Pirlo spoke with the reporters before Juve's clash with Ferencvaros and revealed how Cristiano Ronaldo doesn't get any special treatment at Juventus.
Cristiano Ronaldo does not receive any special treatment from the manager or the club, insists Juventus coach Andrea Pirlo. Ronaldo, who is with the Serie A giants and training under head coach Andre Pirlo has made a fantastic start to the season. Despite contracted coronavirus, Cristiano Ronaldo has come out all guns blazing this season. The Portuguese ace has registered eight goals in his first six games of the Serie A campaign. On Saturday, the former Real Madrid forward scored a brace past Cagliari which took his tally up to 29 out of Juve's 59 Serie A goals in 2020.
Pirlo opens up about Ronaldo's treatment at Juve
Speaking with the press before Juventus’ Champions League game against Ferencvaros on Tuesday, Juve head coach Andre Pirlo cleared the air and mentioned how the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is treated similarly to any other Juve player. Speaking about Ronaldo, Pirlo revealed how the Portuguese forward does not receive any special treatment by the club or the coaches due to his superstar status.
Speaking with the press, the Juve coach said, “I haven't challenged [Ronaldo] on set-pieces yet. I treat him like I treat all the other players. I'm always available on and off the pitch. It's easy to have a good relationship with humble people. I'm like that. I behave with him – a champion – like I do with [Gianluca] Frabotta or [Manolo] Portanova, who are two young players. I do the same things I was used to doing when I was a player."
Ronaldo's stellar form for Juve
This season, Ronaldo has scored eight goals in the Serie A campaign. All of those goals have been scored from inside the box. The forward has a staggering conversion rate as he has converted 75% of his big chances this season. The UCL game this week will probably be the first time Andre Pirlo has the chance to start all three of his star attackers together. The trio of Ronaldo, Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata has not been able to play together as each individual faced various difficulties and injuries during the campaign.
Ronaldo missed four matches for Juve in October after testing positive for coronavirus. On the other hand, Dybala suffered from injuries and poor health. The Argentina forward is now back to match fitness and will be hoping to hit the ground running. Morata also needed some time to settle in after he moved to Turin in September
Speaking with the reporters on Monday, Pirlo said how he has been thinking about the trio from the start. He shared how unfortunate it is for Juve to have never had them together in good condition. Pirlo also mentioned how the team is looking at different solutions.
Pirlo said, "Dybala was injured, Morata wasn't there right at the start, Ronaldo had Covid... they trained together for a few days. Now, we'll try to balance the team, and then we'll look for a solution to let them play together, if possible."
Andre Pirlo’s Juventus are scheduled to host Ferencvaros in their fourth UEFA Champions League group stage match. Currently sitting second, Juventus will be looking to get three points and cover the gap against table-toppers Barcelona.
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Image Credits - Juve Twitter
Updated 21:15 IST, November 24th 2020