COMMENT: Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester City? Is it about to happen? Will Sheikh Mansour, after ten years of trying, finally bring CR7 back to Manchester - possibly as early as this weekend...?
Well, that's what some are stating in Turin. Indeed, this morning's local press are confidently declaring Ronaldo has played his last game for Juventus. The images of him benched for much of last weekend's draw with Udinese the final snaps we'll see of Ronaldo as a Juve player.
But is that right? Will City actually push through a deal which - on the surface at least - flies in face of everything their manager has put in place these past five years? This one. This deal. It just doesn't quite chime right...
First the history. And what history it is. Cycle a decade previous and Sheikh Mansour made his biggest attempt to bring Manchester United's former attacker back to England. At the height of his powers with Real Madrid, Ronaldo was badgered by City intermediaries about returning to Manchester for the 2011/12 season. The story goes Ronaldo still has the contract that was faxed to him, framed and hanging on the wall of one of his luxury properties. The attempt by City was outrageous. The pitch made to Ronaldo extravagant. A picture of a Bentley, with 500,000 quid spread across the backseat. Free luxury accommodation in Dubai. A tour of the Palace. And the promise of being treated like royalty should he accept the offer. A fortune at the time, Ronaldo was offered £350,000-a-week to quit Madrid. But he couldn't be tempted.
Ten years on and things have changed. Ronaldo has changed. But the ambition remains as red hot as ever. He wants another Champions League medal. And from his end, a move to City offers him a better chance than staying where he is.
Guardiola and Ronaldo on the Nou Camp pitch
As mentioned, in Turin they're convinced this is going to happen. Ronaldo will sign for Manchester City. But for this column. From the sources we've spoken to. Nothing is settled yet.
What we do know is that Jorge Mendes, Ronaldo's long time agent, is now in Turin. Mendes spent Wednesday evening at Ronaldo's home. It was there that he broke the news that only City had shown serious interest in taking him off Juve's hands. There had been hope of PSG entering the fray. Even Real Madrid. But for the moment, it is City who are keeping the door ajar.
But it will be a deal on their terms. As Juve were informed on Thursday by Mendes. City will take on Ronaldo - but only as a free transfer. Yesterday's meeting was tense. Juve insisting that €28m will be required for City to sign the veteran. As much as the bluster around the club has been about Ronaldo's wages and their financial concerns, the majority of powerbrokers are insisting he stay. 101 goals in 134 games can't be replaced. No-one amongst the football staff want to see the Portuguese leave. Indeed, the majority inside the board room feel the same. Problem is, it's Ronaldo who's doing the pushing here, not management.
At City, they've kept their own counsel. Even their most trusted in the press have had little to feed upon. This story has been driven by the dailies in France and Italy. Something which suggests not everyone is supportive of this move.
Could that include Pep Guardiola? Only he can say. But Ronaldo as a Guardiola player just doesn't quite fit. Harry Kane, of Tottenham, does. But Ronaldo?
Since his arrival five years ago, with the support of his former Barcelona brainstrust Ferran Soriano and Txiki Begiristain, City have signed players to suit Guardiola's system. Nothing has been imposed upon the manager. It's strictly been a transfer policy shaped to Guardiola's needs. Players must be prepared to work within that system - and not have the system built around them.
With next-to-no work off the ball. With a personality to overwhelm a dressing room. Ronaldo just doesn't fit. He doesn't play like a Guardiola player. The manager's system and tactics would have to be built to suit Ronaldo, rather than the other way around. A demand Guardiola has never shown any interest in meeting.
If Sheikh Mansour is doing more than simply making an enquiry, you fancy he's done so unilaterally. If Guardiola has been ignored, then so has Soriano and Begiristain. To veer so far away from a blueprint which has brought so much success makes little sense.
Of course, there is the prospect of winding up - again - those down the road. The reaction to this week's news from the Red half of Manchester has been vicious. A real sense of betrayal felt. When the Stretford End has regularly sung for Ronaldo, even 12 years after his departure, knowing his friends would use such support to lift him during his down moments, you can understand the disappointment.
But is that really enough to rip up everything the manager has built and bring Ronaldo back to England?
Guardiola doesn't do luxury players. And he doesn't do big personalities. Even after ten years of trying, with the deal now close, Sheikh Mansour should be rethinking this one.