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What's the story?
Juventus wanted to sign Inter striker Mauro Icardi before the club acquired Cristiano Ronaldo from Real Madrid, according to sporting director Fabio Paratici.
There is arguably no club that would shy away from signing footballing superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo if given the chance and despite securing the services of Cristiano Ronaldo, Paratici claims he was not their priority.
In case you didn't know...
Cristiano Ronaldo needs no introduction. After winning three consecutive Champions League title, the greatest goalscorer of Real Madrid and Champions League shocked the world with a move away to Juventus last summer.
With 18 goals and 7 assists in the Serie A this season, Cristiano is the highest goalscorer in the league and helped Juventus maintain their unbeaten streak so far.
Massimiliano Allegri's Juventus side made history and won a seventh Serie A title in a row in 2017-18 but Champions League was always their dream. They were knocked out by Real Madrid last two times in three years in the Champions League and Cristiano Ronaldo played a pivotal part.
The heart of the matter
Sporting director Paratici has revealed how the Champions League quarter-final exit to Madrid in April had resulted in the board seeking a way to shake up the squad. He opened up about the signing of the 5 time Ballon d'Or winner and claimed that Mauro Icardi was the first priority before they turned their sights to Cristiano.
"We had a meeting, it was early June. I had a thought about Buffon leaving, the team having won seven championships, and having had a tough Champions League exit. So something had to be done to motivate the squad," Paratici said to Gazzetta dello Sport as quoted by fourfourtwo.
"I met with [chairman] Andrea, [vice chairman] Pavel, and we all agreed. We must give the entire environment a shock. A positive shock that can project Juventus over certain limits. There are two ways to motivate the team. The first way? It was to buy Icardi and unleash an incredible fiasco, or we can sign Cristiano Ronaldo."
What's next?
The Italians are already delighted with Cristiano Ronaldo as Juventus will turn their focus to the Champions League where they meet Atletico Madrid in the next knockout round.
