The former Juventus defender has warned the club to not make the same mistake Real Madrid made with Cristiano Ronaldo.
Mehdi Benatia believes Real Madrid were wrong to sell Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018, and he has urged Juventus to not make the same mistake.
The Moroccan defender played alongside Ronaldo for one-and-a-half years in Turin until his departure in January 2019. The pair won a Serie A title and the Supercoppa Italiana in their time together.
So Benatia, like most football fans, is keeping tabs on his former teammate’s future. He hopes Ronaldo continues at Juventus for at least one more season, even if that means he becomes a free agent next summer once his contract ends.
“I don’t know anything about Cristiano but, as a fan, I hope he stays,” Benatia told Tutto Juve. “At 36-years-old, he continues to be a war machine, capable of beating all kinds of records.
“You have to keep a player like that for life.”
Benatia, who now plays for Turkish club Fatih Karagumruk, added: “Real Madrid were wrong to sell him. Juve shouldn’t make the same mistake.”
Is there any chance of a CR7 exit?
Juventus have received no offers for Ronaldo and, therefore, don’t expect their star player to leave this summer.
Ronaldo also took to the social platform Instagram to shut down rumors linking him with a return to Real Madrid after his friend, Edu 
Aguirre, claimed the Spanish giants wanted to re-sign him earlier in the week.
So as things stand, Cristiano isn’t going anywhere and is now preparing for Juventus’ Serie A opener at Udinese on Sunday.
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