Juventus Are Preparing A Swap Deal Involving Ronaldo, Neymar For Next Summer: Report

Juventus are reportedly preparing a swap deal involving Cristiano Ronaldo and Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) for next summer.

The deal would see Ronaldo move to PSG and the Ligue 1 champions’ forward, Neymar, will join Juventus ahead of the 2021-22 season, as reported by Italian publication TuttoMercatoWeb.

Both Ronaldo and Neymar’s current deals with Juventus and PSG respectively are due to end in 2022, and the Serie A club is believed to be ready to part ways with the Portuguese playmaker.

While Neymar’s PSG future has been dependent on the Brazilian's decision to return to FC Barcelona or not, Ronaldo has been linked with a move away from Juventus for a while now. Even though the 35-year-old Ronaldo is in the twilight years of his decorated career, he has been Juventus’ best since his arrival to Turin in 2018. The five-time Ballon d'Or winner has netted 71 goals for Juventus in as many as 94 competitive appearances, helping the side to two back-to-back Serie A titles.

Juventus signed Ronaldo for $117 million from Real Madrid, and they would not want the superstar to leave for free at the end of the 2021-22 campaign. The Serie A champions have been hit by the COVID-19 pandemic and therefore willing to letting him go to save around $700,000-a-week in wages.

It has also been reported that Manchester United are planning to re-sign Ronaldo, who played at Old Trafford between 2003 and 2009.

The TuttoMercatoWeb report has also mentioned that Neymar and Ronaldo are the only two players among the top ones right now, whose contracts are similar and with interchangeable salaries.

“It could be that one day when Cristiano gets out of bed in the morning and decides he would like to join another team. How many clubs can a player like him play for, four or five? It’s a closed circle, PSG are in this circle and people are always talking about us. But there have to be certain opportunities, circumstances, and moments in time. It’s normal that this possibility is talked about although due to the craziness of the market he is not within reach at the moment,” PSG sporting director Leonardo said on Facebook recently.

It is also understood that Neymar has assured Leonardo that he will remain with PSG in the near future as he is set to sign a new five-year deal with the French club.