Watch Cristiano Ronaldo send cheeky message to doubters as he celebrates first-half HAT-TRICK for Juventus vs Cagliari
CRISTIANO RONALDO sent a cheeky message to his doubters as he crashed in a first-half hat-trick against Cagliari.
The Juventus superstar has copped a lot of flak this week, on the back of his side's disappointing Champions League exit to Porto.
Reports have since surfaced that the Italian giants are even willing to cash in on the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for just £25million.
But in response, the 36-year-old smashed in a hat-trick by the 32nd minute of the trip to Cagliari.
He grabbed the first after just 10 minutes, launching a trademark leap to convert a free header from Juan Cuadrado's out-swinging corner.
And it was 2-0 15 minutes later, when he coolly netted from the penalty spot.
Ronaldo then wasted little time grabbing the match ball.
Federico Chiesa brilliantly launched Juve downfield on the counter-attack.
And at the end of his lung-busting run, the 23-year-old calmly found Ronaldo on the right side of the penalty area.
The former Real Madrid star chopped onto his left-foot, before rifling the ball past the helpless Alessio Cragno.
Most read in Football
In celebrating the goal, CR7 ran to a camera on the touchline, before pointing to his ear in defiance.
Giovanni Simeone did manage to pull a goal back for the home side just after the hour mark.
But Juve held out to secure a big three points for Andrea Pirlo's men.
The result sees them go back to within ten points of league leaders Inter Milan with a game in hand, after Antonio Conte's side beat Juve's city rivals Torino 2-1.
⚽ Read our Football live blog for the very latest news from around the grounds