Mihyun Chung
Football Tribe Korea
The 34-year-old Portuguese rested for Juventus friendly against Team K League on 26 July, as well as the meet-and-greet session prior to the game.
“Ronaldo was expected to play, but he was not 100 per cent fit due to muscle fatigue. I spoke with Andrea and Ronaldo and we concluded that it would be best for him to rest,” said Mauricio Sarri.
The explanation was not enough to clam down the disappointed and enraged K League fans, as they were expected to watch the ex-Real Madrid star play.
Indeed, 65,000 tickets were sold out in about two hours despite its price mainly because it had been informed by K League and the event management company the Fasta that the forward would play for at least 45 minutes according to the contract. Some tickets were priced at US$350.
K League apologised to the fans while claiming it was a breach of the contract that Ronaldo had not played.
The Fasta, led by the agent Robin Zhang, has not officially released any statement yet.