'Ronaldo will stay with us' - Juventus president Agnelli says Portugal star will return next season

Juventus President Andrea Agnelli has insisted that his star player Cristiano Ronaldo will stay with the club next season after his side were shockingly eliminated from the Champions League by Lyon on Friday.

After Lyon defeated Juve 1-0 in the first leg of their last-16 tie back in February, the Ligue 1 side opened the scoring in Friday's second leg in Turin when Memphis Depay converted from the spot.

But Juventus would come roaring back and it was no surprise to see Ronaldo at the forefront. The Portuguese forward scored from the spot in the first half before netting a screamer from distance in the second half to level the tie at 2-2. 

Ronaldo's second goal was his 37th of the campaign and saw him break the club record for most goals in a single season — a mark that had stood since 1933-34.

But the Serie A champions could not find another goal and were eliminated from the Champions League on away goals after a 2-2 aggregate result.

It was another disappointing result in Europe for Ronaldo, whose first Champions League campaign with Juve ended in the quarter-finals against Ajax last season.

There has been some speculation that the 35-year-old could be interested in moving on with the season now over, but Agnelli was quick to shoot down that idea after his side's elimination on Friday.

"He's going to stay with us," Agnelli told Sky Sport of Ronaldo. "I'm sure that Cristiano will play for Juventus next season. He's a pillar of this team."

Ronaldo himself appeared to confirm his club president's words on Sunday in a post on Instagram.

"Happy to win the last two of the nine consecutive Serie A titles for Juventus!" Ronaldo wrote.

"It seems easy but it isn't! Year after year with talent, dedication and hard work you can achieve your goals and be better than before! Let's go for my third."

Though Juve's season ended in European disappointment, they did manage to win Serie A for a ninth straight season.

Ronaldo scored 31 goals in Serie A this term, 10 more than he tallied in his debut campaign of 2018-19. His contract with Juventus runs through June 2022.