Allegri insists Ronaldo is staying at Juventus

TURIN: Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said Cristiano Ronaldo has told him that he will stay at the club this season, which new boss believes guarantees goals for the Serie A giants.

Ronaldo has been linked with a move to a host of clubs this summer, with reports in Spain suggesting he could return to Real Madrid, while the Italian media speculated he has been offered to Premier League champions Manchester City.

“He has always trained well, I just read the gossip in the papers. He never told us he wanted to leave,” Allegri told a news conference ahead of his side’s season opener at Udinese on Sunday. “Ronaldo told me that he is staying at Juventus.

“He is an added bonus for us, because he guarantees a large number of goals. Obviously, we also have to work as a team to get the best out of an individual.”

Allegri is back at Juventus for a second spell having taken over from Andrea Pirlo, who disappointed in his only season in charge of the Turin side, steering the club to a fourth-placed finish in Serie A last term.

The Italian tactician’s five seasons at the helm from 2014 to 2019 brought five league titles, four Coppa Italia wins and two runners-up finishes in the Champions League.

Freiburg stun Dortmund 2-1 in Bundesliga

BERLIN: Freiburg put the brakes on Borussia Dortmund’s earlyseason optimism by holding on for a 2-1 win in the Bundesliga on Saturday, a demoralising blow for a team with ambitions of challenging for the title.

Goals in each half from Vincenzo Grifo and Hungary midfielder Roland Sallai gave host Freiburg theirn first win and dealt new Dortmund coach Marco Rose his first league defeat after the 5-2 victory over Eintracht Frankfurt in the opening round last weekend. Dortmund lost in German Super Cup to Bayern Munich on Tuesday.