Andrea Pirlo insists there is "no contract clause" that prevents him from subbing off Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus.
The Portuguese star wasn't impressed when his manager took him off with 15 minutes remaining in their clash with Inter Milan.
Ronaldo had notched a brace for the Bianconeri in their Coppa Italia semi-final first leg.
Juventus will travel to the San Siro next week looking to make the final and Pirlo insists it is vital that he manages his players.
Ronaldo, despite turning 36 on Friday, has an enormous appetite to play but that didn't bother his boss.
“It’s normal that when you go out in a match like this you want to play to help the team," Pirlo told Rai Sport .
“There is no contract clause that says he can't be subbed off. He knows he is a fundamental player for us but to get his breath back, he must always be at the top.
“He proved it with his performances after some criticism. He couldn’t have done better than that.
"I said [to him] that he had to rest, we have an important match on Saturday.
"He has played many consecutive games, every now and then a little rest is good for him.”
Ronaldo has scored 22 times this season for a Juventus side who face a tough battle if they are to regain their title.
The Old Lady have won the last nine Serie A titles but find themselves seven points off leaders AC Milan with a game in hand.
Pirlo had seen his side lose 2-0 to Inter Milan last month, so was therefore pleased to see them reverse the outcome on Tuesday.
“We weren’t ourselves against Inter in the league, that was a slip-up, but it was also a valuable lesson and we worked on the mistakes that were made in that game,” Pirlo added.
