Juan Cuadrado claims his former Juventus team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo 'doesn't want him' in Saudi Arabia

Rajarshi has been part of Khel Now since 2022, and he covers world football.

Published at :July 10, 2023 at 1:22 AM

Modified at :July 10, 2023 at 1:22 AM

Juan Cuadrado claims his former Juventus team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo 'doesn't want him' in Saudi Arabia

The Colombian is a free agent

Juan Cuadrado jokingly said that Cristiano Ronaldo is the reason he won't relocate to Saudi Arabia.

The dynamic right-sided star recently left Juventus after spending a total of eight seasons there due to a lack of progress on a new contract. After 314 games for the Turin team, he is now a free agent ahead of the next season.

Several famous players, like Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante, moved from the best leagues in Europe to Saudi Arabia during the summer transfer window.

Juan Cuadrado might have been planning such a move, but he seems to have playfully disregarded it because of his old Juventus teammate Ronaldo.

Speaking to AS in Colombia, he said: "At this moment, I still have the passion and I like to compete. Besides, Ronaldo is down there and he doesn't want me!

“I am very relaxed, thinking of what is best, asking God for help with these decisions. My agent Andrey Martinez was in Europe and has just arrived to talk to me about various situations. Obviously, there are options and we’ll analyse which is the best.”

Cuadrado first made a loan transfer to Juventus from Chelsea in 2015 prior to completing a permanent switch there two years ago.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined the Colombian international in Turin for a period of three years after leaving Real Madrid in 2018.

Throughout that time, both went on to win two Serie A championships in addition to a Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana.

Then, Ronaldo went back to United before concluding a transfer to Al Nassr of the Saudi Pro League at the start of 2023.

Since then, he has registered 14 goals in 19 games for the team that placed second in the league the previous season.

Although it is unknown where Cuadrado is going to clash next, a rematch with Ronaldo seems extremely unlikely.

Rajarshi Shukla

After earning a bachelor's degree in mass media, Rajarshi began his career as a sports writer in 2019, driven by his passion for sports journalism. He has been working in the field for over six years. A devoted fan of Lionel Messi and Barcelona, Rajarshi has been involved in sports since childhood. Before turning his focus to journalism, he even represented his college at the state level. Along with covering football, he enjoys playing the game, watching movies, and experimenting with new recipes in his spare time, as cooking is one of his favorite hobbies.