Miralem Pjanic reveals Massimiliano Allegri’s ruse to stop Cristiano Ronaldo taking Juventus free-kick

Former Juventus midfielder Miralem Pjanic has revealed how Massimiliano Allegri ensured he, rather than Cristiano Ronaldo, took a free-kick against Napoli.

Pjanic said Ronaldo effectively claimed set-pieces after joining Juventus, with nobody willing to challenge the Portugal forward for the ball.

“When Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Juventus, there was no room for anyone else to take free-kicks,” Pjanic told La Gazzetta dello Sport. “He would come over and take the ball. When you have a player like him, who makes you win almost every match, you stay quiet and let him take it.”

Pjanic recalled one match against Napoli in which he had previously scored from a free-kick. Ronaldo was fouled during the game and awarded another set-piece, but Allegri intervened.

“We had beaten Napoli before with a goal I scored from a free-kick,” Pjanic said. “Ronaldo was fouled and won a free-kick, but Massimiliano Allegri decided to send the medical staff on to force him to leave the area. So I took it, scored and we won.”

Ronaldo made 134 appearances for Juventus, scoring 101 goals and providing 28 assists.

The forward joined Juventus from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018 for 117m euros. He left the club for Manchester United in the summer of 2021 in a 17m-euro transfer.