Amid the turmoil, Ronaldo looks to pick up where he left off
MILAN: Engulfed in turmoil, Cristiano Ronaldo will look to pick up where he left off on the pitch as Juventus host Genoa in Serie A on Saturday before next week’s trip to his former club Manchester United in the Champions League.
Ronaldo shrugged off explosive rape allegations to score for the champions in their last Serie A game against Udinese before the international break on Oct 6 to keep Juventus’s 100 per cent record after eight games.
The allegations made by 34-yearold American Kathryn Mayorga, that Ronaldo raped her in a Las Vegas hotel in 2009, threaten to engulf the Portuguese superstar in a lengthy legal battle.
Ronaldo, 33, issued a statement to “firmly deny the accusations” but was left out of Portugal’s squad for this month’s 3-1 friendly win over Scotland, and 3-2 Nations League victory against Poland.
Juventus have stood behind their star signing and he will look to help the reigning champions maintain their six-point lead on second-placed Napoli, ahead of next week’s visit to Old Trafford where he became a star.
“Goals, pains, tears and the case in the USA — the first 100 days at Juventus,” wrote Gazzetta dello Sport.
“With Juventus it’s a honeymoon,” the newspaper added of the former Real Madrid player’s three months in Turin, “but the Mayorga case...”
It was business as usual at training for Ronaldo who posted a photo of himself listening to coach Massimiliano Allegri’s instructions on social media Thursday with the ‘thumb up’ emoji.