'Life goes on' - Allegri shrugs off Ronaldo exit as Portuguese 'didn’t want to play for Juventus anymore'

Massimiliano Allegri has shrugged off Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Juventus, with the Bianconeri boss saying "life goes on" without a player that "didn't want to play for the club anymore".

The summer transfer window in Turin closed with one stunning exit sanctioned and questions being asked of how successful a three-year stint in Italy for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was.

Allegri is eager to close that chapter, with Ronaldo now part of Juve's past, and has no issue with the Portuguese heading back to Manchester United or those still on the books of the Serie A heavyweights.

What has been said?

Discussing the exit of a talismanic presence ahead of a trip to Napoli on Saturday, Allegri told reporters: "Ronaldo didn’t want to play for Juventus anymore, so he returned to United.

"It would have been his last season at Juventus, so we anticipated what we would have done next summer.

"Cristiano spent three amazing years at Juventus and we wish him the best, but life goes on.

"I don’t like to think about what could have happened, in life you need to be practical. Here at Juventus, the group has always won trophies, not the single footballer.

"We have this characteristic in our DNA made of self-love and sacrifice. In order to be competitive and win, we must have ambition and passion."

Who else are Juventus missing?

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The Bianconeri are preparing to take in their first outing of 2021-22 without Ronaldo at their disposal, and a number of other senior stars are set to miss out in Naples.

Allegri has taken the decision not to select Paulo Dybala, Alex Sandro and Rodrigo Bentancur on the back of their World Cup qualifying duties in South America, while Juan Cuadrado is under the weather.

"I decided to leave the South Americans at home because they will return too late," Allegri said.

"Cuadrado was the only one who could have joined the team, but he suffered stomach flu. He hasn’t even returned to Italy. He is still in Colombia to undergo some medical examinations."

Euro 2020 winner Federico Chiesa will also be absent after picking up an untimely injury on international duty with Italy.

"Chiesa had a muscular issue, the tests showed no lesion, but I prefer to rest him as a precaution.

"The lad is a bit worried, when you have a muscular issue there could be something behind it."

Further reading

• Juve director reveals why Ronaldo joined Utd rather than City
• Haaland transfer regret lingers at Juventus
• 'It is impossible to replace a goal machine like Ronaldo'