MILAN (AFP) - Cristiano Ronaldo wants to leave Juventus, coach Massimiliano Allegri revealed on Friday (Aug 28), as rumours of an imminent move to Manchester City gather pace.

"Yesterday, speaking with Cristiano, he told me that he has no intention of staying at Juventus, for this reason he will not be picked tomorrow. This morning he didn't train," he told reporters ahead of Juve's Serie A match against Empoli on Saturday.

Premier League champions City have been widely linked with a move for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner after missing out on England captain Harry Kane, who announced that he would remain at Tottenham on Wednesday.

"I'm not disappointed in Ronaldo, he made his choice," added Allegri. "In life, things change. Great players like Sivori, Platini, Del Piero, Zidane, Buffon have passed through Juventus - it's part of life.

"He was here three years, he made his contribution, he made himself available to Juventus and now he's leaving. Life goes on."

Earlier on Friday, Juventus had confirmed that Ronaldo would not train with his teammates, with Sky Sport Italia reporting that the superstar forward arrived at the club's Continassa training centre in the morning to say goodbye to his teammates before leaving at around 10.45am (4.45pm Singapore time).

According to daily Gazzetta Dello Sport, a deal for the superstar to go to Premier League champions Manchester City could be completed within the next 24 hours.

Despite Juventus insisting the 36-year-old was staying, on Thursday Sky claimed the Portugal captain had already cleaned out his locker in the dressing room and was reluctant to make himself available to face Empoli this weekend.

If a deal is to be reached, the clock is ticking with the transfer window set to close on Tuesday.

The fee, however, could be a problem with the Italians believed to be wanting in the region of €25 million (S$39.7 million).

Ronaldo, who has one year remaining on his contract, has also been linked with Paris Saint-Germain and a return to Madrid. He joined Juve in 2018 to huge fanfare.

Last weekend, Allegri insisted that he had received assurances from the Portugal star over his future.

"Let's clarify this issue, Ronaldo told me that he's staying," he said in response to numerous questions on Ronaldo's form and mindset ahead of Sunday's Serie A opener at Udinese.

"He has always trained well and has always been available. I've read rumours in the papers, but he's never wanted to leave Juventus."

Italy's top scorer last season with 29 goals started the Udinese game on the bench.

'Disrespectful' rumours

Last week, Ronaldo himself dismissed reports of a move back to Real Madrid, calling them "disrespectful" and saying that stories of his departure were written with "nobody ever being concerned about trying to find out the actual truth".

Real have since had an initial bid of €160 million for PSG star Kylian Mbappe rejected, but according to French media reports, the Spanish giants are set to make a second offer of €180 million.

That would close any route for Ronaldo back to the Santiago Bernabeu, although as well as the reports of a possible move to City, there have also been rumours he could join old rival Lionel Messi in Paris to replace Mbappe should the Frenchman leave.

Ronaldo scored 118 goals in 292 appearances for Manchester United early in his career before leaving for Madrid in 2009.

He joined Juve in 2018 after scoring a remarkable 450 goals in 438 matches in a glittering nine-year spell at the Bernabeu that also included four Champions League triumphs.

At Juventus, his hopes of winning another Champions League have been thwarted, with the club failing to get beyond the quarter-finals during his time in Turin.

Last season, they were deposed as Italian champions by Inter Milan.