Cristiano Ronaldo was left out of Massimiliano Allegri's starting XI as Juventus drew their Serie A opener against Udinese.

 

But Juve director Pavel Nedved denied the rumours, insisting it was a "shared decision" not to start the five-time Ballon d'Or winner.

"He is absolutely staying at Juventus," Nedved told broadcaster DAZN.

Ronaldo, 36, replaced Alvaro Morata on 60 minutes and thought he had headed in a stoppage-time winner from Federico Chiesa's cross, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside by the video assistant referee.

Juve coach Massimiliano Allegri also played down the decision to start with Ronaldo on the bench, telling the same broadcaster: "Cristiano is OK.

"It's the start of the season and seeing the condition everyone is in and thinking about the game, especially at the beginning, I put him on the bench knowing that there would be a need for him to come on.

"He made himself available, like everyone. He played well, even scored a goal but unfortunately it didn't stand."

Ronaldo's header was ruled out after a lengthy VAR review