Former Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta has said that he was not in favour of the club splurging €100 million to sign Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Portugal captain arrived in Turin in a blockbuster move from Real Madrid in the summer of 2018. Fresh off winning a fifth UEFA Champions League – the first player to do so – Ronaldo embarked on a new adventure, putting an end to his hugely successful nine-year stay at the Santiago Bernabeu.
While admitting that there was no question about the quality of Ronaldo, then 33, the financials of the transfer were not universally agreed across the Juventus board. Marotta, who left the club a few months after Ronaldo’s arrival, told DAZN (via GOAL):
“I must recognise that I spent 10 wonderful years at Juventus, but when the owners want to adopt a different strategy, then a manager must take a step back. It was fair to respect the club’s desire. I partially didn’t agree with signing Ronaldo.
“The player can’t be questioned, but the deal was demanding in financial terms. It was not the element that brought the splitting; the cycle was over, and we had to change.”
Ronaldo spent three successful seasons in Turin from a personal perspective, scoring 101 goals.
However, Juventus only enjoyed modest success, winning two Serie A titles but failing to snap their long UEFA Champions League duck, one of the prime reasons they signed the Portuguese.
“Cristiano Ronaldo was a very good player and he still is” – Former Juventus CEO
Widely regarded as one of the best players and most lethal goalscorers in the game’s history, Cristiano Ronaldo is still going strong.
The Al-Nassr forward is coming off a fabulous year for club and country, netting 54 times, at least two more than any other player. He’s currently in a midseason break with his club side, having recovered from a minor injury issue.
In another interview, Marotta told Cronache di Spogliatoio (via GOAL) that the former Juventus attacker makes his teammates better and remains a champion player:
“He was a very good player. He still is, and above all, he is a great champion. The champion is that person who manages to convey beliefs to his teammates. He was a bit of a leader of the team.
“He was the most famous, and he dragged the others into the game. So, it was challenging, but he didn’t make me angry.”
Ronaldo is set to appear in a record-extending sixth straight European Championship this summer in Germany.
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