That's according to journalist Duncan Castles, who has heard that Allegri has been the man behind pushing the deal through.

Allegri was one of the names in the frame for the Gunners job before they eventually appointed Unai Emery.

The Italian, meanwhile, has overseen a stunning £88million bid for Ronaldo with talk in Spain that a move could be imminent.

"What I'm told is Allegri, the coach, is very keen on the transfer as part of this overhaul of the squad he demanded to remain at Juventus for another season and turn down approaches from Real Madrid and Arsenal this summer," Castles told the Transfer Window podcast.