Ronaldo expected to play for Juventus
US and Chinese-owned clubs clash in the Milan derby
MILAN, Oct 18, (AP): Cristiano Ronaldo’s return to Juventus started with a selfie, included a goal in a practice game, and will likely end up with a starring role on Saturday.
Ronaldo, who has been accused of rape and is facing a civil lawsuit in the United States, had the weekend off while his Italian team was idle during a break for inter- national matches. Normally the star of his national team, the 33-year-old Ronaldo was left off Portugal’s squad for games against Poland and Scotland. The team won both anyway.
But he’s back now, and is expected to be in the lineup when Juventus hosts Genoa in Serie A.
On Tuesday, Ronaldo posted a selfie on social media of himself driving his car, with his sunglasses perched on his nose. He then scored in Wednesday’s practice match against fourth-division club Chieri.
In typical fashion, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner accelerated to beat several opponents before looking up briefly and shooting into the back of the net.
Meanwhile, for the first-time in its 109year history, the Milan derby on Sunday will feature a clash between a US club and a Chinese-owned one.
Both AC Milan and Inter Milan have undergone changes of ownership in the last few years as they bid to return to their former glories. In their last four fixtures, both clubs were under Chinese control.
But while Inter remain under the con- of retail giant Suning Holdings Group which bought the club in August 2016, their neighbours are now owned by US hedge fund Elliott Management which took over from Chinese businessman Li Yonghong in July. Although Inter are third in the table, eight points behind leaders Juventus, and Milan are a modest 10th, the build up to the Sunday evening clash at San Siro has resembled that of a topof-the-table match. Unlike most of their recent meetings, where at least one of the teams has been in crisis mode, the 222nd Derby della Madonnina features two sides who are on form.
Luciano Spalletti’s Inter have won their last six games in all competitions while Gennaro Gattuso’s Milan are unbeaten in eight games since losing their opening match of the season to Napoli.