With Juventus out of the Champions League, much of the narrative surrounding the team has been the short-term intentions of Cristiano Ronaldo.
The 36-year-old superstar was brought to the Italian giant at a massive expense, in large part to help push the club to the top of the European mountain. But three seasons in, Ronaldo's presence hasn't led to any success at the Champions League level for Juve, leading many to speculate that the team and the player could part ways.
On the latest episode of "Shoot-Out," DAZN's weekly soccer show, hosts Steve Bower and Greg Brady discuss the options at Ronaldo's feet ahead of a potentially big summer transfer window for the Portuguese icon.
With one year left on his contract, should Ronaldo stay in Turin or look for a fresh start elsewhere?
"I think he holds steady where he is right now at Juventus. It's very possible the [Serie A] title run ends, we know they got bounced from Champions League early again, [but] he's got one more year on his contract," Brady said. "There's going to be interest in Cristiano Ronaldo if Juventus wants to price him out, but I somehow think he's there at least the one more season. But if you don't extend him, Steve, you get in that dangerous territory where Barcelona is with Messi — with the idea that he can leave for nothing.
"So maybe the rubber will have to hit the road at some point this summer, but I'm going to call it: he's in a Juventus uniform next fall."
Bower offered a different perspective, with Ronaldo leaning toward leaving but not just because of the Champions League disappointment but also because of Juventus' fading chances in Serie A.
"Look, this is season three in Italy, which is a normal sort of footballing cycle, because, as big as Juventus is it isn't up there, of course, with the Barcelonas, the Real Madrids, the Manchester Uniteds, [and] the Bayern Munichs of the traditional world," Bower said.
"He's done three seasons — he wins the league, which is a given really, in the first two seasons. Now we know it's unlikely that he's going to do that this season, with the gap between themselves and Inter Milan, we know, crucially, what happened in the Champions League and that disappointment, going out in the last-16 to Porto of Portugal, of course, in that extra time."
He added: "I think because of the disappointment ... with Juventus' managerial situation with Pirlo getting thrown in the last minute, [and] with the poor recruitment that has come back to hurt them, I think if you'd had better players around him, then Juventus, obviously, would have been closer to the to the Scudetto, but also still in the Champions League."
Catch the full Ronaldo discussion above and catch full episodes of "Shoot-Out" on DAZN.