Buffon accuses Ronaldo of damaging ‘team unity’ at Juventus

The former Juventus captain believes the club were not able to reach their top-priority goals with Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo joined Juventus after leaving Real Madrid in July 2018. The Portuguese icon spent three years at the club, marking his presence as one of the best Serie A players. He scored 101 goals in his 133 appearances for Juventus while winning five trophies at the club.

However, for a player like Ronaldo, even these stunning stats are not enough to shape a successful era. Juventus signed Ronaldo when they were close to winning the Champions League. Despite a few unforgettable European performances in Juve’s jersey, Ronaldo ultimately failed to bring the trophy to the Italian side.

In a new interview with TUDN, Gianluigi Buffon has spoken about Ronaldo’s spell at Juventus.

“Juve had the chance to win the Champions League the first year he arrived, which was the year I was at Paris Saint-Germain, and I couldn’t figure out what happened,” said Buffon.

“When I returned, I worked with CR7 for two years and we did well together, but I think Juve lost that DNA of being a team.

“We reached the Champions League Final in 2017 because we were a side full of experience, but above all we were a single unit and there was this competition for places within the group that was very strong. We lost that with Ronaldo.”

Juventus have failed to regain their form since Ronaldo left the club. The Bianconeri have scored less than all the top-eight teams in Serie A, while sitting fifth themselves. Despite leaving the club in the summer, Ronaldo is still Juventus’ top scorer in 2021.