Ex-Juventus boss Max Allegri reportedly told club chief Andrea Agnelli to sell star player Cristiano Ronaldo before his departure from the club in 2019.
Allegri was the manager in Turin for five years from 2014, winning five Serie A titles in a row as well as four Coppa Italia crowns.
He worked with Ronaldo for one season, in 2018-19, following his move from Real Madrid and according to Italian outlet La Repubblica, in his last meeting with Agnelli before his departure he encouraged the club to move the five-time Ballon d'Or winner on as he was stalling the growth of the team.
The report details that, in Allegri's opinion, Ronaldo's presence blocked the pathway for young players to progress into the first-team squad and feature regularly.
However, Agnelli did not agree with the then-manager and Allegri left the club that summer, with Maurizio Sarri taking charge.
Allegri and Ronaldo won the Serie A title together, but were knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals by Ajax.
The report adds that Juve, who are currently fighting to claim a Champions League place this season with Inter 12 points clear of them at the top of Serie A, are tied into a contract with Ronaldo until 2022, which will reportedly cost £77m (€90m) in salary and financial costs.
Juve could instead opt to offload the 36-year-old this summer, in order to accelerate the progression of the likes of Federico Chiesa and Dejan Kulusevski.
Ronaldo was visibly frustrated during the 3-1 win against Genoa on Sunday, seemingly irritated after failing to find the back of the net.
Juventus took all three points through goals by Kulusevski, Alvaro Morata and Weston McKinnie.
But La Gazetta dello Sport reported that the 36-year-old 'got angry' with a number of his teammates, including Giorgio Chiellini and Chiesa after 'poor passes'.
He is also said to have had a row with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny for throwing the ball out because there was a Genoa player on the ground as he told his team: 'There are ten of them, we have to attack'.
Ronaldo threw his Juventus shirt on the ground after the game which looked to be another sign of frustration, though it was in the direction of a ballboy who had requested it.
His anger is then said to have reached boiling point after the game as he 'punched the wall' inside the dressing room.
Manager Andrea Pirlo confirmed that Ronaldo was angry after he was unable to add to his 25 Serie A goals this season.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com