'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Cristiano Ronaldo shocked the footballing world when he ended his association with Real Madrid after 9 years at the club. The Portuguese moved to Torino to join Juventus, for a reported fee of around £105million. Ronaldo’s time at Madrid propagated his name among the greats in footballing history, winning four Champions League trophies in five years - a feat unheard of before.
Ronaldo left Madrid as a 33-year old, and there were doubts about his ability to adapt to a new style of football, especially at his age. However, the five-time Ballon D’Or winner continued his goalscoring form and remains one of Europe’s most lethal strikers.
Today, let’s take a look at:
5 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo’s Juventus move has been a success
#5 Commercial Success
As we’ve recently seen with the advent of the European Super League, football has become all about capitalizing and maximizing profits, as most clubs are owned by private individuals and institutions. In addition to this, football has become a global game and relies more on new viewers encompassing an international audience.
An icon like Cristiano Ronaldo - a legend of the game - has been a huge commercial success for Juventus. To start off, Juventus’ following on social media handles soared, as the club gained close to 20 million followers since Ronaldo’s arrival. The Italian champions had 30million followers before Ronaldo, and currently stands at 48.2 million. Across all social media handles, Juve now have over 100 million followers - making them the 4th most followed football club in the world. Juventus’ Instagram handle generated 1million likes on average before Ronaldo, but the announcement of Ronaldo’s signing generated 24million likes in a couple of days.
Moreover, upon Ronaldo’s arrival, Allianz announced the expansion of their sponsorship deal, now worth €103.1 million. Adidas increased their kit sponsorship deal from €23.25million annually before Ronaldo, to €51m, as it currently stands. Jeep, too, increased their sponsorship agreement from €17m per year to €42m.
#4 Won 3 of Europe’s top League titles (Premier League, La Liga & Serie A)
After winning Serie A in his debut season at Allianz Stadium, Ronaldo achieved a rare feat in the footballing world.
The Portuguese has now won three of Europe’s top league titles, having earlier won the Premier League with Manchester United and La Liga with Real Madrid. Ronaldo was involved in 30 goals (21 goals, 9 assists) from 31 appearances in the 2018/19 Serie A season, helping Juventus lift their 8th consecutive Scudetto. The now-36-year-old proved doubters wrong yet again, adapting to a new challenge in Italian football, and remains one of Europe’s top finishers.
The Juventus squad has seemed to lack quality, especially this season. Two of their best players this season - other than Ronaldo - Morata, and Chiesa are at the club on loan, and with a partially aging squad, Cristiano Ronaldo was instrumental to their league success.
#3 Continued goalscoring form
While Ronaldo may not have scored the ridiculous number of goals he did during his Madrid stint, the 36-year old still has a scoring record any top striker would be proud of.
In three years at Allianz Stadium, Ronaldo has been involved in 119 goals (97 goals, 22 assists) from 126 appearances. This season, Juventus has been involved in 40% of Juventus’ goals across all competitions. Even at 36, Ronaldo has been involved in 82% minutes of Juventus’ matches this season, and matched a record by scoring in 11 successive league matches before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Ronaldo became Juventus’ highest goalscorer in a single season after beating Felice Borel’s record of 36 goals. Ronaldo’s 37 goals in the 2018/19 season broke the Italian's record, which stood for 87 years.
#2 Helped Juventus win a 9th consecutive Scudetto
Juventus have been one of Europe’s most consistent clubs - winning the most consecutive league titles in Europe’s top 5 leagues.
Bayern Munich is the closest with 8 consecutive Bundesliga titles, but Juventus leads this race - with their 9th successive Scudetto in the 2019/20 season. Cristiano Ronaldo has played a massive part in Juventus’ 9th Scudetto title, scoring 31 goals and providing 6 assists from 33 appearances in the 2019/20 season. Even with a struggling Juventus team in the 2020/21 season, Ronaldo has been one of the few positives for the Bianconeri.
The Portuguese is the highest goalscorer (25) in Serie A this season, with an exceptional xG (expected goals) of 23.61 and a shot conversion rate of 17%.
#1 First to score 50+ goals in England, Spain, and Italy
Cristiano Ronaldo made another record, as he became the first player to score 50+ goals in three of Europe’s top leagues - England, Spain, and Italy.
Ronaldo also became the first player to score at least 20 goals in 12 consecutive seasons in Europe’s top five leagues. He achieved this feat in his 600th career league appearance against Spezia Calico in a 3-0 win. In the 2019/20 season, the Portuguese became the oldest player to score 30+ goals in a single season in one of Europe’s top 5 leagues. Ronaldo leapfrogged Ronnie Rookie of Arsenal - who set the record in 1948.
The 36-year old also broke David Trezeguet’s record of goals in successive matches. Trezeguet scored 11 goals in 9 consecutive outings for Juventus, while Ronaldo scored 16 from 11 successive games. In his three-year spell, Ronaldo has already become one of Juve’s finest goalscorers in their 120+ years of history.
