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Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene has made a bold claim about Manchester United star Cristiano Ronaldo's time at the club.
The Portuguese spent three years with the Bianconeri after joining from Real Madrid in 2018 till his departure last summer.
He was largely signed to help the Bianconeri win the UEFA Champions League, given his stupendous record in the competition with Los Blancos.
However, Juventus never even reached the semifinals. They even saw their league dominance ended by Inter Milan during his final season at the club.
All of that has led many to question if Ronaldo was worth the €100 million transfer, despite the star bagging 101 goals from just 134 appearances.
However, club chief Arrivabene is inclined to look at the bright side, insisting that Ronaldo brought unprecedented viewership to the Italian top flight. He told Tutto Sport (via juvefc.com):
“The operation brought the results, it also brought visibility into Italian football which it was different. I would not focus only on him, but on a broader discourse.”
The 37-year-old made his final appearance for the club on the opening matchday of the 2021-22 season, coming off the bench against Udinese. He appeared to have struck a late winner, but the effort was ruled out for offside.
Even after his departure, Juventus have struggled to reclaim the Scudetto. They have only settled for another fourth-place finish and went out in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League.
Cristiano Ronaldo has struggled for collective success at Manchester United
Ronaldo's return to Manchester United was supposed to return glory days at Old Trafford. However, the team endured a terrible campaign, which also yielded statistically their worst Premier League season in terms of points.
Individually, Ronaldo has fared well - top-scoring with 24 goals across competitions - which at his age is commendable. However, United's indifferent performances on the field have taken the shine off his stellar campaign.
Forget lifting trophies, the Portuguese won't even be seen in the UEFA Champions League next season. That will mark his absence from the competition for the first time in almost 20 years.
Like at Juventus, he's had to face allegations of holding his team back this season, even though the forward has scored the most match-winning goals in the United squad.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to suggest they would've struggled more without him, considering most of United's other attackers barely even played, let alone score.
However, as long as collective success eludes him, the attacker will continue to be in the firing line of critics.
