Ronaldo '1,000 percent' with Juventus

Superstar wants to stay after claiming first Serie A title

MILAN - Cristiano Ronaldo said on Saturday he is "1,000 percent committed" to staying with Juventus next season after claiming his first Serie A title.

Massimiliano Allegri's side needed just one point to nail down its eighth straight league championship, which helped ease some of the pain of its shock Champions League exit to Ajax at Juventus Stadium last Tuesday.

A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Fiorentina was enough to give Juve a 20-point lead on nearest rival Napoli, with five games to play.

Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic put Fiorentina ahead after less than six minutes, but Alex Sandro's diving header in the 37th and an own goal from Fiorentina defender German Pezzella after a Ronaldo cross in the 53rd sealed the victory.

"It was a great season and I adapted well. We won the Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup, which is not easy to achieve," said Ronaldo.

"It didn't go well in the Champions League but next year is a new page, the fans all want it and so do we.

"I'm staying at Juve - 1,000 percent."

Making history

It was the 34-year-old's sixth domestic league title, having won three with Manchester United and two with Real Madrid, as he becomes the first player to win the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A.

Juventus purchased the five-time Ballon d'Or winner for 100 million euros ($112 million) last summer.

Ronaldo's 19 goals and six assists has put him in the running for the top-scorer award along with Sampdoria's Fabio Quagliarella, who has 22 goals, and AC Milan's Krzysztof Piatek (21).

Juventus has lost only two matches, against Genoa and SPAL, with 28 wins and three draws.

Its eight straight title sees it overtake French club Lyon for the record for consecutive championships in the top five European leagues.

The day was a double celebration as Juventus' women's team won its second straight league title since being founded in 2017.

"I'm very happy because we've achieved an important goal," said Allegri, who becomes the first coach to win five consecutive Serie A titles.

He has six in total, having also won with AC Milan, one behind Giovanni Trapattoni, who has seven.

"We had an amazing season and we won 50 percent of the competitions we participated in," Allegri said.

"Of course, we are disappointed by the elimination last week, but a title is to be celebrated.

"We won it five games from the end of the schedule, and that's all about what the lads did on the pitch."

Juventus also tied the record for the earliest the Italian title has been won, with five games to spare, achieved by Torino in 1948, Fiorentina in 1956 and Inter Milan in 2007.

"We were greatly disappointed by the loss to Ajax, but now it's time to party," said defender Giorgio Chiellini.

"The Champions League is a competition that always comes down to details. You can play well for nine months and then compete in a week where things are slightly off and it's all over.

"We have to continue to progress and work, it's the only way we know at Juventus."

Battle for Europe

The battle for European soccer next season remains tight with just four points separating AC Milan in fourth and Lazio in eighth.

AC Milan was held 1-1 at Parma, with Roma, in fifth, missing a chance to move up after a 1-1 draw at Inter Milan.

Substitute Samu Castillejo put Milan ahead after 69 minutes in Emilia-Romagna but Bruno Alves grabbed a point three minutes from time.

A Stephan El Shaarawy stunner put Roma ahead after 14 minutes at San Siro stadium, only for Ivan Perisic to level for Inter in the 61st minute. Inter is third, six points behind Napoli, which hosts sixth-place Atalanta on Monday.

Lazio's European hopes took a knock with a 2-1 loss to relegated Chievo.

A win would have put the Romans within a point of AC Milan, but it struggled when Sergej Milinkovic-Savic was sent off after half an hour.

Emanuel Vignato, 18, scored his first goal for Chievo after 49 minutes, with Perparim Hetemaj heading in a second two minutes later to seal a first away win.

Felipe Caicedo pulled a goal back for Lazio in the 67th minute, but Simone Inzaghi's side slipped to eighth behind Torino, which won at Genoa with Cristian Anzaldi scoring the only goal.

Agence France-Presse