Cristiano Ronaldo will not train with Juventus on Friday, the Serie A giants confirmed to AFP, as rumours of an imminent move to Manchester City gather pace.
Widespread media reports said that Ronaldo left Juve’s Continassa training centre before the start of Friday’s session. Sky Sport Italia reported that the five-time Ballon d’Or winner arrived in the morning to say goodbye to his teammates before leaving at around 10:45 am local time (0845 GMT).
Asked by AFP if Ronaldo would be training with his Juve teammates, a club spokeswoman confirmed that he would not.
According to daily Gazzetta Dello Sport, a deal for superstar Ronaldo to go to Premier League champions Manchester City could be completed with the next 24 hours.
Despite Juventus insisting the 36-year-old was staying, on Thursday Sky claimed the Portugal captain had already cleaned out his locker in the dressing room and is reluctant to make himself available to face Empoli this weekend.
If a deal is to be reached, the clock is ticking with the transfer window set to close on Tuesday.
Premier League champions City have been widely linked with a move for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner after missing out on England captain Harry Kane.
The fee, however, could be a problem with the Italians believed to be wanting in the region of 25 million euros ($29.4 million).
Ronaldo, who has one year remaining on his contract, has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and a return to Madrid.
