da 888： Former Juventus CEO Giuseppe Marotta has revealed why he “didn’t agree” with the club splashing out €100 million (£86m/$107m) on Cristiano Ronaldo.

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All-time great moved to Italy in 2018Big money required to get deal doneSpent three years with the BianconeriWHAT HAPPENED?

The Portuguese superstar completed a shock switch to Turin in the summer of 2018. Having become Real Madrid’s all-time leading goalscorer across nine memorable years at Santiago Bernabeu, Ronaldo opted to take on a new challenge in Italy.

AdvertisementGettyWHAT MAROTTA SAID ABOUT RONALDO

Not everybody was on board with that decision, with Marotta – who parted ways with Juve a matter of months after a stunning transfer was pushed through – telling : “I must recognise that I spent 10 wonderful years at Juventus, but when the owners want to adopt a different strategy, then a manager must take a step back. It was fair to respect the club’s desire. I partially didn’t agree with signing Ronaldo. The player can’t be questioned, but the deal was demanding in financial terms. It was not the element that brought the splitting; the cycle was over, and we had to change.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE

Marotta has previously admitted that five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo was “challenging” to work with at Juventus, telling : “He was a very good player, he still is and above all he is a great champion. The champion is that person who manages to convey beliefs to his team-mates. He was a bit of a leader of the team, he was the most famous and he dragged the others into the game. So, it was challenging, but he didn’t make me angry.”

GettyWHAT NEXT FOR RONALDO?

Ronaldo spent three years with the Bianconeri, winning two Serie A titles and scoring 101 goals, before returning to Manchester United in 2021. He is now on the books of Saudi Pro League side Al-Nassr and is still going strong at 39 years of age.