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Cristiano Ronaldo's frustration with the higher-ups at Real Madrid had been simmering for a while and it eventually culminated in the Portuguese forward making a move to Serie A giants Juventus for a fee that could amount to £99.2m.
"I like challenges and I know that this will be a difficult one. It’s a very tactical championship but I like difficult challenges and I don’t like to just sit down and look at my successes, I want to work hard for even more." - Cristiano Ronaldo
That he chose to use the words "tactical championship" shines a spotlight on the task at hand for Massimiliano Allegri to imbibe Ronaldo's ideas and use him to the best of his abilities.
Juventus are seven-time Serie A champions on the trot since 2011. Their primary focus will now be the Champions League - one of the key reasons a five-time winner of the competition was brought to Turin.
So where will Ronaldo play when he dons the famous black-and-white kit of The Old Lady and what are their pros and cons?
#1 Inverted Winger
Allegri rarely plays a back-three. The back-four is his go-to defensive line which leaves six spots open for midfield and attack. If he opts to go for either the 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1, Ronaldo could play on the left as an inverted winger.
Of course, this means he will have to sacrifice Mario Mandzukic (more on Mandzukic later) who generally plays in that position with Gonzalo Higuain leading the line while Juan Cuadrado or Douglas Costa play out on the right.
This will allow him to cut in on to his favoured right foot. With Higuain occupying the central defenders, and Alex Sandro's overlapping runs giving full-backs a hard time, it will allow Ronaldo to find space on the left side of the box to get into goalscoring positions.
However, at 33, Ronaldo can still burst into sprints in attack but to expect him to track back on defence would be overkill. He has been criticised in the past for not getting back on defence and he rarely did for Real in his final seasons, ever ready to counter-attack once his teammates won the ball back.
What will be key here is that Paulo Dybala and Ronaldo do not step on each other's shoes when the Portuguese star comes inside. Dybala is left-footed and his natural movement could see him and Ronaldo cross paths until they work out their off-ball movements.
Ronaldo predominantly played in the centre at Real. But in the few games he did start on the left, he still managed to average more than one goal per game.
#2 Strike Partner
One other option could see Allegri use a 4-3-1-2 formation that worked on occasion for Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid. That would allow Ronaldo to play up top with a strike partner alongside him.
At Real Madrid, he had Karim Benzema as a partner in and around the box. At Juventus, he could either partner with Gonzalo Higuain or Mario Mandzukic. But will Higuain still be around to partner his former Real teammate?
The big outlay the Italian club made to bring Ronaldo to Turin could see them bite the bullet and sell their previous record transfer. With too many attacking players in the squad, it would not make sense to the club and players to keep them on the bench.
Higuain could be sold by the club if they receive a lucrative offer. At 30, Higuain can still command a high transfer fee, especially since his current contract ends in 2021.
This could potentially see Mandzukic and Ronaldo playing up front with Paulo Dybala playing behind them. A formation like this will pretty much absolve Ronaldo of defensive duties with a heavy midfield presence allowing him to flourish near the final third.
This could be ideal as Allegri will want to keep his best goalscorer closer to the goal rather than further away from it by playing him as a winger. Playing out wide will require him to complete more dribbles - a statistic that has been on the decline in his final years at the Santiago Bernabeu.
#3 Centre Forward
The third option for Allegri could see Ronaldo lead the line for Juventus all by himself. This could be the case if Higuain is indeed sold and the majority of the attacks are channelled through Ronaldo - as it was at Real Madrid.
He did score or assist 43% of Real's goals in La Liga and Champions League after all. So it makes perfect sense to use him as the focus of the attack.
The only issue with this setup is that when Real attempted this formation with Ronaldo up front, his impact was negligible. Case in point: Real Madrid vs Bayern Munich in the Champions League. He had just two shots on goal - none of which were on target.
That is not to say that it would never work. Real had played a 4-1-4-1 formation in that game with Lucas Vazquez and Isco on the wings. With faster wingers, Ronaldo could become lethal - especially on the counter-attack.
This is where playing Juan Cuadrado and Douglas Costa on either side could see Juventus profit from their pace and trickery on the ball to feed Ronaldo in the centre while Dybala plays behind him.
Again, the relationship between Dybala and Ronaldo will be key to seeing the formation work. If they can co-exist and work for each other, they can do wonders and lay waste to defences in not only Serie A but the Champions League as well.
What do you think is Ronaldo's best role at Juventus? Leave a comment and let us know!
