In 2018, the football world was shocked by the news that one of the world’s greatest ever players will be swapping the white of Real Madrid for the black and white of the Bianconeri. But was it a good choice by both ends? Cristiano was the main guy for Real’s CL three-peat, so Juventus made it clear by signing him that they want that trophy at all costs. What went wrong though? This is Ronaldo And Juventus – A Risk Worth Taking?
All Good Things Must Come To An End
Real Madrid get €100m – a €20m profit – for a player who’s 33 and Juventus sign one of the world’s best goalscorers. Would you have done that deal or not? Ronaldo has been an incredible figure to Madrid over the years, but was it the right time for both club and player to seek a fresh start? Ronaldo gets to probably finish his career at another great club in another nation, while Madrid can start to build their team around a new galactico. Like everything in life, all good things must come to an end.
You can’t think of Madrid without thinking of CR7, just like you can’t mention the CL without thinking of him as well. Juventus went all out and secured his services, but little did they know that it will not be as they initially thought. So what was the problem exactly? Let’s break it down from different perspective as we look at what went wrong in this deal.
CR7 & CL – A Match Made In Heaven
As we mentioned above, Ronaldo is called Mr. Champions League for different reasons. Let’s take a look at some of his records in this competition. We start with the fact that Ronaldo have the most titles, winning it 5 times till now. The Portuguese’s tally of 135 goals is also the most scored by any player in history. In addition, he hold the most assists with 42, as well as most wins with 108. Is there really a debate on who’s the greatest in this competition?
The Juventus star has also scored the most goals ever in a single European campaign, notching 17 for Real Madrid in the 2013/14 season. He also scored the most goals in a calendar year with 19, while also scoring in 11 consecutive games, the most ever. Ronaldo finished 7 times as top scorer where he was also able to score in 3 finals, all of which are the records in this competition. Do we need to add anything else?
The Move To Juventus
Ronaldo And Juventus – A Risk Worth Taking? Was this a wise investment by the Italian club? You get a 33 year old superstar while splashing money to sign him, which means you can’t really afford to get other players in while also hiring a rookie coach. Who’s to blame here? If Cristiano Ronaldo is to blame on anything, should it be that he left Real Madrid and joined Juventus?
Records wise, this move was not a bad one for him. In 117 games for the club in all competitions, he’s netted 90 goals and 70 of those strikes have come in just 83 Serie A appearances. No player in the history of Italian football has reached that milestone quicker. Ronaldo also became the first player to score 20+ goals in each of the last 12 seasons in the top-five European Leagues. Of course he is Juve’s top scorer while winning the league title in his first 2 seasons. Not a bad record to add to your collection. However, what about the Champions League? You know, the trophy that matters the most. To be fair, Juve would have won the league title with or without him, after all they have done it in the last 9 straight seasons. So what went wrong in that area?
Champions League Struggles
It was not meant to be like this, not with the signing of Mr. Champions League at least. Everyone thought Juventus would get better and finally get their hands on this precious trophy. For a team that reached two finals in three seasons between 2015 and 2017, should be able to take the final step with the addition of the greatest player of all time. Instead, they’re further away from the trophy than when he arrived. Cristiano Ronaldo went to Juventus to become their hero and win the Champions League just to get humiliated by Porto, Lyon and Ajax. With all due respect, but these teams are nowehre close to Juve’s level, to say the least.
But the debate here remains, who should we blame? Is it Ronaldo’s fault he’s not providing, or the management that failed to build a team and get an experienced coach to deliver CL glory in Ronaldo’s final years? After all, he scored all of Juventus knock-out goals in his first 2 seasons. Wasn’t that enough? Or we should expect more from a player of his caliber? What do you guys think?
Pirlo Vs Ronaldo
It is clear that Ronaldo has nothing to do with Pirlo’s ideas. The latter wants to build the play from the back while pressing high on the pitch. Ronaldo will not take part in that. However, he can still score and decide games on his own, just not where it matters the most apparently. In the first leg against Porto, Ronaldo failed to have a shot registered. While also in the return leg, he struggled so much to get in the game. It was Chiesa that scored in both games to keep Juventus alive for a while. Cristiano was also blamed for his “wall positioning” during Porto’s second goal. Although he remains a goalscoring machine, but looks unsuited to Pirlo’s style of play. So what now? Who should leave and who should stay? Should Juve build their new team around Chiesa, knowing how much he’s contributing and is lethal for the team?
How To React?
It’s time to ask if Juventus and Ronaldo would both be better separating this summer. After all, Cristiano is 36 and deserves a team who can challenge for UCL before he retires. On the other end, Juve need CR7 off the books to afford a rebuild. Some say that Cristiano is the biggest problem at Juventus. The money they spent on him made the whole squad weaker and unbalanced, they even had to appoint Pirlo with no experience just to avoid an expensive manager. But Who’s fault is that? Obviously it was the Juventus management that decided to walk that road. Should they reassess?
Final Say
Ronaldo And Juventus – A Risk Worth Taking? Given everything we talked about, do you think that Ronaldo joining Juventus was a success? If so, why were they not able to secure the CL, the reason why they got him in the first place.
Also, who’s the weakest link in all of that? Was it Ronaldo that did not deliver when the team needed him the most? Or maybe Pirlo that does not have enough experience to win the Champions League? Or even the club as a whole, who did not plan accordingly and thought that Ronaldo alone can get them there?
In the end, can Ronaldo be labelled as a Juventus legend? even without the CL glory? Given the records that he broke so far, the goals he scored and titles he won. Or it’s only European success that will determine his legacy at the club?
Feel free to share your opinions in the comment section below. Tell me in general if that deal was a successful one or not. Also, tell me what you think about the questions we’re asking above. I would love to hear your thoughts.
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