July 18, 2018
Add another name to the list of All-Star athletes not coming to Philadelphia after all.
ESPN reported Wednesday morning that Cristiano Ronaldo will not be joining his new club, Juventus, on the team’s United States tour, which stops in Philadelphia July 25.
MORE SOCCER: New study suggests headers may be tied to balance problems in players
After Ronaldo officially transferred from Spanish club Real Madrid to Juventus on July 10, the question among Philadelphia’s soccer fans became: Would the city get to watch one of his first games in black-and-white stripes? Juventus is slated to appear in an exhibition match at Lincoln Financial Field on July 25 against German club Bayern Munich as part of the International Champions Cup.
Ronaldo was officially introduced on Monday and will begin his preseason training at the club’s facilities in Italy.
It wasn't a dream, Bianconeri. 😁#CR7JUVE pic.twitter.com/NS5BUHpsyV
— JuventusFC (@juventusfcen) July 17, 2018
Juventus’s club season begins Aug. 19. ESPN’s Ben Gladwell believes Ronaldo could make his Juve debut a week earlier in the club’s friendly against youth team Villar Perosa.
Meanwhile, the Union are in seventh place in the MLS’s Eastern Conference.
