Sarri learns the hard way not to substitute Cristiano Ronaldo

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Cristiano Ronaldo doesn’t like being substituted, not even in friendlies.

This is a lesson learned by Maurizio Sarri during Juventus’ 3-2 International Champions Cup loss to Tottenham, as he took the Portuguese off in the 63rd minute.

The No.7 greeted his replacement Matheus Pereira, but then his expression changed completely when Sarri made a comment.

It led some to believe that Ronaldo was unhappy at having to come off.

“The fear you have as a coach who just substituted Ronaldo,” was the caption on Twitter by journalist Tancredi Palmeri as he shared a video of the incident.

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Sarri, though, spoke very highly of the forward after the match and explained that he’ll have independence on the pitch.

“He has total freedom, as I’ll organise the other 10 players to defend,” the coach said.

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