Juventus’ Massimiliano Allegri admitted Cristiano Ronaldo is upset and angry at not winning the UEFA Player of the Year having scored 15 goals in the Champions League last season.
Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri has said Cristiano Ronaldo was “angry” not to have been named UEFA’s Player of the Year on Thursday, and that his decision not to travel to Monaco must be respected.
Luka Modric won the award and Ronaldo was not present at the ceremony. Instead, he informed the Serie A club earlier in the day that he did not feel like travelling. It is not clear whether he knew in advance that he would come second.
“It was his personal decision and like all personal decisions, it is to be respected,” Allegri said at a news conference on Friday.
“All I will say is that Ronaldo had a great season last year and tomorrow he is going to play [against Parma] with [Mario] Mandzukic, while I will decide on the third or fourth [forward] after training.
“He was angry yesterday because he won the Champions League scoring 15 goals. This shows that he always wants to be the best.”
Ronaldo picked up 223 votes, cast by a select group of journalists and coaches, while Modric won the award with 313. Mohamed Salah came third with 134 votes. Ronaldo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, has said it is “ridiculous” that his client did not win the award.
The Portuguese forward will be looking to open his Serie A account at the third attempt on Saturday evening, when the Bianconeri travel to promoted Parma.
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