Cristiano Ronaldo’s £88m Juventus move to be funded by sale of Gonzalo Higuain, Alex Sandro and Daniele Rugani, according to reports
Portugal legend wants around £500,000 so the Old Lady has to raise some serious funds this summer
CRISTIANO RONALDO’S £88million Juventus move will be funded by the sale of three Turin stars including Gonzalo Higuain, according to reports in Spain.
El Transistor claim left-back Alex Sandro – previously a target for Chelsea and Manchester United – is another stellar name getting moved on.
And star centre-back Daniele Rugani, 23, is the third asset who will be flogged to let the Old Lady lure Ron away from Real Madrid.
The former Old Trafford star is rumoured to want £26.6m-a-season, which is worth around £500,000-a-week.
But Higuain's brother and agent has denied his sibling is in talks with Chelsea and dreams of reuniting with Ronaldo at Juventus.
Nicolas Higuain says his sibling wants to respect his contract with the Serie A giants and work alongside the Portugal legend.
Reports had claimed Maurizio Sarri's arrival at Stamford Bridge as Antonio Conte's replacement would mean the completion of a £53million move for Higuain.
But Nicolas seems to have other ideas - with his comments coming on the same night Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes is reportedly heading to Real Madrid for crunch talks with Bernabeu chief Florentino Perez.
Nicolas believes the ex-Real pair - who spent four years together in La Liga - could make a deadly duo in Turin should Los Blancos accept Juve's planned offer of £88m for the 33-year-old.
He told Sky Sport: "We are not in talks with Chelsea.
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"He [Higuain] wants to respect his contract with Juventus.
"It would be great to see Higuain and Cristiano Ronaldo playing together again."
However, Italian newspaper Gazzetta dello Sport says Juventus would have to sell Higuain to be able to fund a move for Ronaldo.
The five-time Ballon d'Or winner would likely command astronomical wages in what is rumoured to be a proposed four-year deal worth £105m.
The Old Lady have won six straight Serie A titles but their dream is to lift the Champions League.
Ronaldo has won Europe's top competition the past three years.
Higuain, 30, joined Real Madrid in 2007, two years before Ronaldo arrived from Manchester United.
The Argentina striker departed for Napoli in 2013 and joined Juve in 2016 while Ronaldo has remained at the Bernabeu.
Sandro, 27, is one of the most coveted defenders in world football, despite being snubbed by Brazil for the World Cup.
And Rugani has long been linked with a Premier League move after mature performances in Serie A with Juve and Empoli.