Cristiano Ronaldo 'banned' from specific free-kicks at Juventus, Allegri confirms

Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri has confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will no longer be taking free-kicks close to the penalty area.

Ronaldo and his Juventus teammates are currently preparing to face the Portuguese international's former club, Manchester United, in the Champions League on Wednesday, having already beaten the Red Devils 1-0 in their previous meeting last month.

And, despite being prolific from set pieces during the course of his career, Allegri has now admitted that Ronaldo will be ceding close-range free-kicks to Paulo Dybala and Miralem Pjanic.

The Express quoted the 51-year-old as saying: "Ronaldo is a smart guy, he knows Pjanic and Dybala are excellent free-kick takers and they are going to take those close to the area.

"When there are free kicks from far away, Ronaldo can kick them but we've decided that Dybala and Pjanic will take the set pieces close to the area."

La prima da capitano non si dimentica mai ©️#finoallafine #juventus #futbol #capitan pic.twitter.com/UYA2mfQOUA

— Paulo Dybala (@PauDybala_JR) October 27, 2018

Allegri's comments come a week after Paulo Dybala seemingly 'leaked' Juventus' free-kick pecking order following his first game as captain.

Posting a picture with Ronaldo after a 2-1 win against Empoli – in which the Portuguese forward scored both goals – fans were quick to spot the various set-piece priority lists posted in the dressing room.

A closer look at the list will tell you that Ronaldo is not first-choice in any of the situations visible, perhaps a first in his career.

Ronaldo vs Man United

Wednesday night will be the fifth time Cristiano Ronaldo has faced Manchester United since he left the club in 2009, ending a six-year spell at Old Trafford that yielded 118 goals and nine trophies.

The 33-year-old is unbeaten against his former club in his previous four meetings with them; having won 3-2 on aggregate (a 1-1 draw and 2-1 win) in the 2013 Champions League last-16, with Ronaldo scoring in both legs, and beating Man United in the 2017 Uefa Super Cup with Real Madrid before Juve's 1-0 Old Trafford win in October.