Ronaldo contract theory addressed after furious reaction to being subbed

Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo has had his say on Cristiano Ronaldo's furious outburst over being subbed off against Inter Milan on Tuesday night.

The Old Lady beat Inter 2-1 at the San Siro in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final tie.

Ronaldo scored both goals, one from the penalty spot, in the first-half and had his sights set on getting the hat trick.

But Pirlo hauled off the legendary forward for Alvaro Morata with 15 minutes to go.

And the former Real Madrid star was not happy at all -and was spotted exchanging words with the Juve coach.

However, Pirlo has insisted he is merely protecting the 35-year-old after a barrage of fixtures.

When asked what he said to the Portugal international, he said: "I said that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday.

"He is playing many consecutive games, every now and then a little rest is good for him."

Pirlo was then queried on Ronaldo's reaction, to which he seemed to be peeved at the suggestion the veteran forward had to play every minute.

He added: "It’s normal that when you go out in a match like this you want to play to help the team.

"There is no contract clause according to which he cannot be subbed off.

"He knows he is a fundamental player for us, but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.

"He proved it with his performances after some criticisms, he couldn’t have done better than that."

Juventus play Roma on Saturday in Serie A with the Old Lady looking to overtake them in the league.

It has been a tough year so far for Juve, who are used to winning the Scudetto almost by default.

It was exactly 10 years ago the last time an different team won the league – AC Milan – who are top of the pile at the moment.

Juve, on the other hand, are fourth – though they do have a game in hand – regardless, they sit seven points behind Milan at the moment.