Juventus boss Andrea Pirlo has confirmed that star man Cristiano Ronaldo won’t be featuring in their first Serie A clash of the New Year against Benevento after they both agreed that the club’s top-scorer would be rested following a hectic run of fixtures up until Christmas.
Ronaldo was given a rest break after he featured in a congested run of fixtures for Juventus and Portugal in November, as Pirlo has made it clear that he wants his superstar rested so he would not accumulate fatigue or sustain any injury as a result of fixture congestion.
The 35-year-old was a constant fixture in all of his country’s three games in the UEFA Nations League that spanned through mid-November. He however was unable to prevent his country from being knocked out of the competition having suffered a defeat at the hands of current World champions France – with fans flocking to non uk casinos instead of watching the remainder of the tournament.
After club football returned, Ronaldo also played a part in the two of Juve’s games that followed immediately. He was instrumental in the two games, having scored a brace against Cagliari in their League encounter which they won, while also scoring against Ferencvaros in their 2-1 Champions League victory on Tuesday which secured their place in the last 16 stage of the competition.
The former Real Madrid man has featured in eight matches since the start of November and for the first time since then, will have to miss a match as he has been rested and won’t be part of the squad that will be traveling to the Stadio Ciro Vigorito to take on Benevento on Saturday. Man Utd-linked Paulo Dybala and Alvaro Morata are however in the squad and will be hoping to take matters into their hands in the absence of Ronaldo.
Manager Andrea Pirlo was speaking in an interview and reiterated that Ronaldo’s absence wasn’t as a result of injury, but that he was a bit tired and needed to get some rest. He also said the agreement was made between him and Ronaldo.