Cristiano angers Juventus team mates by skipping training to go shopping for a Ferrari
Cristiano missed Monday's training session to shop around for a new Ferrari. La Gazzetta dello Sport report his team mates are fed up with his privileges.
Cristiano is more and more isolated at Juventus. For the past three months, Diario AS has been reporting that the player wants to leave the Italian club and the latest episode at the club suggests that even his own team mates wouldn't be sorry to see him go.
On Monday, the day after the team's defeat to AC Milan, Cristiano didn't train with the rest of the squad. He had been granted permission to skip the session and instead, went to Maranello, with Agnelli and Elkann, to buy a new Ferrari. The images of the ex-madridista smiling after one of Juve's most humiliating defeats of the past few years did not go down at all well with the fans, or his team mates. At Juve, Cristiano takes home 30 million euros a year, and in spite of the amount of goals he contributes (99 in 130 games), the team has been in a steady decline since he joined. That is obviously not his fault, (the club has changed coach three times in three years), but now things have deteriorated to a level where problems are not difficult to find. In today's La Gazzetta dello Sport, it was reported that his relationship with the rest of the players is practically nonexistent.
The only player he sees socially is Pinsoglio, and on the pitch he hardly speaks with the rest of his team mates, who La Gazetta say were "surprised and disappointed" that he failed to show on Monday. The sports daily adds that his team mates, "have abandoned him" and are fed up with the privileges he is given. Under Sarri, he stopped taking part in the cardiovascular workouts, and under Pirlo he has been granted countless time off for personal matters or to deal with sponsors. The team doesn't see him as a leader for his attitude out on the pitch, they are tired of his constant complaints when he doesn't get the ball and don't think he is as fit as he should be (in the last five games, he only made an effort against Udinese). Ronaldo is on his own in Turin and hopes to leave soon, but finding another that will pay him 30 million euros is going to be very difficult. Tonight, against Sassuolo, he will start up front alongside Dybala, in search of his 100th goal. Juve need to win to remain with a chance of qualifying for next season's Champions League, and they need Cristiano at his best and firing on all cylinders. Later, when the season is over, he will try to organise his departure.