Cristiano Ronaldo: ‘I hope Real Madrid miss him’ – Barcelona star makes honest admission

Ronaldo quit Real Madrid for Juventus, moving to Turin in a £105million deal as he targets a Serie A swansong.

The 33-year-old endured a difficult debut against Chievo yesterday, failing to score as Juventus battled their way to a 3-2 win courtesy of Fernando Bernardeschi’s late winner.

Barcelona, meanwhile, eased to a 3-0 win over Alaves with Lionel Messi scoring twice and Philippe Coutinho also getting on the scoresheet.

And, speaking after the game, Busquets could not resist making a brutal comment about Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit.

He said: “I hope they miss him and notice the lack of goals.

“But I know their coach [Julen Lopetegui] and he will make Madrid more of a team.”

Real Madrid will start La Liga life without Ronaldo against Getafe tonight.

Los Blancos are yet to invest in a big-name replacement despite many players being linked.

Neymar is reportedly club president Florentino Perez’s dream signing but, with PSG reluctant to sell, a transfer would be difficult.

Kylian Mbappe, his team-mate and a potential target, is also happy to stay at the Parc des Princes.

Chelsea’s Eden Hazard has been deemed too expensive.

And reports in the past have claimed Real approached Mohamed Salah last month, before he then signed a Liverpool contract extension.

Pressure is mounting for Real to sign a Ronaldo replacement with the European transfer window closing on August 31.

But Julen Lopetegui, who succeeded Zinedine Zidane as manager in June, insists he is happy with his squad

“Right now we’re focusing on getting the best out of the squad we have which is a squad we love, we have a lot of talent and we’re going to work with it,” he said.

“We like the players we have and I have no doubts about the squad I have.

“Our players have a fantastic attitude, and people are going to see a Madrid side with a lot of talent.

“The important players are the ones that are here, not the ones that are not.”


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