Ronaldo left Juve at the wrong time says Chiellini
Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini has said Cristiano Ronaldo should have left the club before the start of the season because his late departure to Manchester United affected the team.
Ronaldo, 36, had one year left on his contract with Juve but returned to Old Trafford in August for €23 million.
Ronaldo’s last game for Juventus came in the 2-2 draw at Udinese on the opening day of the Serie A season where his stoppage-time header was ruled out by VAR.
“Cristiano Ronaldo left on Aug. 28,” Chiellini told DAZN. “This creates a shock and I think we paid him in terms of points in the start of the season.
“It would have been better had he [Ronaldo] left on Aug. 1 as we would have prepared ourselves and we would have arrived ready for the start of the campaign.”
Ronaldo won five trophies, including two Serie A titles, in his three seasons at Juventus. He also scored 101 goals in 133 appearances.
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After Ronaldo’s departure, Juve picked up just one point from their next three league games and are sixth in the league table, 10 points adrift of league leaders Napoli.
However, Massimiliano Allegri’s side are top of their Champions League group and three points clear of holders Chelsea after winning all three games.