Cristiano Ronaldo concerns on position change left star reacting to ‘almost absurd’ demand

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Former Chelsea chief Maurizio Sarri has appeared to confirm that Cristiano Ronaldo refused to play as a central striker during their time together at Juventus – but the Italian has conceded that he was making “an almost absurd request” of the Portuguese superstar.

Ronaldo sealed an emotional return to Manchester United in the summer, over a decade after he left the club.

Prior to his Old Trafford return, Ronaldo enjoyed a fruitful three-year spell with Juventus. And it was during his stint in Italy that he played under Sarri.

Now at Lazio, Sarri was axed by Juve after just a year in charge – despite the fact he guided Juve to the Scudetto.

Ronaldo was central to that success, bagging 31 goals from a wide role as Juventus romped to the Serie A title.

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However, Sarri has revealed that Ronaldo refused his attempts to nudge him into a more central role.

“Cristiano scored more Serie A goals in his season with me than any other,” Sarri told Sky Italia at the weekend.

“He was prepared to play centre-forward in a few games when we had an emergency situation, but he didn’t much like the idea of doing it regularly.

“In those situations, you end up challenging the certainties that the player has. Ronaldo scored 35-40 goals per season by starting from that wider position, so for him it was an almost absurd request. That is understandable for the way he plays.”

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Despite his reluctance to play centrally for Juventus, Ronaldo has been deployed as a No.9 for the majority of his second spell with Manchester United.

And it’s a tweak that has paid dividends for United; even if they have struggled to live up to expectations in the Premier League.

Ronaldo is some way clear at the top of United’s scoring ranks after plundering 15 goals in 30 games – six strikes ahead of Bruno Fernandes, who is next in the standings with nine strikes.

But it’s hard to ignore that his returns pale in comparison to the remarkable returns he amassed at the Allianz Arena.

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The 37-year-old fired an incredible 101 goals in just 134 games to etch his name into Juventus folklore before he was lured back to the Premier League by United.

In recent weeks, the pressure of being United’s main central outlet has played its part, with Ronaldo enduring a rotten goal drought to start 2022.

However, after ending that barren run recently, Ronaldo will be desperate to keep the goals flowing in his bid to spearhead Manchester United’s charge for a top-four finish.

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