Three years ago Juventus threw the house out the window to realize the dream of taking over Cristiano's services. The Bianconera board considered that his signing was what was missing to achieve the longed-for Champions League, an obsession since always and absent in their showcases since 1996.
Beppe Marotta, according to various rumors, did not agree with a very risky operation for the balance, with his 100 million to Madrid and 30 net per season to the player (almost 60 gross). The CEO, then, left the Juventine entity (now Inter de Conte guides), and Juve left the reins of its sports area to Fabio Paratici.
Talking later is easy, but the hit with Porto certifies that for Juve revolutionizing its tradition, in which it never put a single player above the rest, has not worked for them. In the four seasons prior to the arrival of CR7, Juve had won four scudetti, four Cups, one Super Cup, two Champions League finals and two eliminations., against Bayern (undeserved) in the second round, and against Madrid in the quarterfinals (the one from the comeback at the Bernabéu).
The results speak clearly: Juve with Ronaldo has worsened. So far, Vecchia Signora has achieved in three courses two scudetti, two Super Cups, and a Cup final, which will be played in May against Atalanta. What happened in the Champions League, however, was a real disaster. The hat-trick against Atleti in 2019 was the only “Christian moment” they dreamed of. Then came three absurd eliminations against Ajax, Lyon and Porto, absolutely affordable rivals.
For Juve, a sports project without proof took its toll. First it was decided to throw Allegri to look for a “more European” game with Sarri, who was only granted one season. Then, they unexpectedly bet on Pirlo, who had no experience on the bench and had just arrived for the U23 team. To this, we must add the uncertainties in the last market and the enormous mess that was mounted with Luis Suárez.
The result was the one we saw yesterday and the one that is noticeable in the Serie A classification, where Juve marches ten points behind Inter (with one game less, against Naples) and sees its hegemony crumble at the gates of the tenth scudetto consecutive. Furthermore, this elimination has had economic consequences. Juventus shares on the stock market have fallen 6.5% compared to yesterday.
The Italian press, this morning, had no mercy analyzing the situation. The 'Corriere dello Sport ' He wrote “Betrayed by Ronaldo” on his front page and in all the newspapers there is talk of a “technical and economic” failure. For him 'Corriere della Sera', “the marriage between the Juve company and the CR7 company was a disaster”, while the journalist Paolo Condó, in 'Sky', he stated that after the elimination, Paratici would “answer negatively” to a question about the renewal of Ronaldo.
In theory, Juve and Cristiano have another year on their contract. All parties assure that there is no possibility of separating before time, but in the coming days Condó's reflection will find space in many media. Cristiano's salary prevents Juve from doing crazy things in the market, and the Portuguese already realized that lifting the Champions League, there, it will not be easy, far from it. Does it make sense to stay together?