Cristiano Ronaldo has raised doubts over his future at Juventus after saying he’s met his personal targets in Italy and thanking fans “who took part in this journey.”
There’s one year remaining on the Portuguese superstar’s contract in Turin. He was surprisingly benched for his team’s season finale against Bologna on Sunday.
“This year we couldn’t win Serie A, congratulations to Inter for the well-deserved title,” Ronaldo wrote in an Instagram post. “However, I have to value everything that we achieved this season at Juventus, both in collective and individual terms. The Italian Super Cup, the Italian Cup, and the Serie A top scorer trophy fill me with happiness, mainly due to the difficulty they carry with them, in a country where nothing is easy to win.
“With these achievements, I reached a goal that I had set myself since the first day I arrived in Italy: to win the Championship, the Cup, and the Super Cup, and also to be best player and the top scorer in this great football country filled with tremendous players, giant clubs, and a very own football culture.”
Despite listing his personal accomplishments, Ronaldo insists football is a “collective game” and he doesn’t chase individual achievements. The 36-year-old became the first player to finish as the top scorer in England, Spain, and Italy when the 2020-21 term ended over the weekend.
“… I don’t chase records, records chase me,” he wrote.
Ronaldo scored 29 goals over 33 appearances during the latest Serie A season while Juventus finished fourth, ending their nine-year run as Italian champions. However, Andrea Pirlo’s side collected silverware in the Coppa Italia and Supercoppa Italiana.
FC Porto eliminated the club from the Champions League during the round of 16.
“Nothing compares to the feeling of knowing that I’ve left my mark in the countries where I’ve played, and that I gave joy to the fans of the clubs I represented. This is what I work for, this is what moves me, and this is what I’ll always keep chasing for until the last day,” Ronaldo wrote.