Ronaldo to Juventus stopped deals
Cristiano Ronaldo swapped Real Madrid for Juventus back in the summer – and Gianluigi Buffon has now opened up on the transfer.
Buffon has claimed that Juve signed the forward as they believed it would stop other players from joining himself out of the exit door.
He told Tiki Taka on Sport Mediaset: “For me, it was time to say ‘enough’.
“Juve probably felt others could’ve left and that the only way to reawaken everyone was buying Cristiano.”
Alex Sandro, Miralem Pjanic and Paulo Dybala were all linked with moves away.
Messi comparisons
Luka Modric has praised both Ronaldo and Lionel Messi after scooping the Ballon d’Or.
And he believes the duo cannot be compared to other players in the same era.
“History will show that a Croatian player, a representative of a small country, won the Ballon d’Or after Cristiano and Messi, who are players at another level,” Modric told France Football.
“No one has the right to compare themselves with them. They’re the best in the history of the sport.
“To come after them is incredible, but I don’t think, for a second, that this is over for them.”
Allegri claim
Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri believes Ronaldo will bounce back from his Ballon d’Or snub.
“It’s too bad, Ronaldo certainly deserved it with Real,” Allegri said at the Gala Sports Awards.
“Modric winning it will be a motivation, he’ll want to do better and win his sixth ballon d’or with Juventus next year.
“CR7 is a model to all footballers. Even with all his success and at 33 years old he still focuses on each detail. His talents alone don’t account for him being on his level.
“He is a likable guy and he has joined into the group well, and raised our level of professionalism, which is always a part of Juventus.”
Ronaldo next 5 fixtures:
Inter Milan (December 7, 7.30pm).
Young Boys (December 12, 8pm).
Torino (December 15, 7.30pm).
Roma (December 22, 7.30pm).
Atalanta (December 26, 2pm).