7 reasons why Cristiano Ronaldo will not finish as Serie A's top goalscorer
With three official appearances for Juventus in the Serie A, the world has gotten used to seeing Cristiano Ronaldo in the white and black of the Bianconeri, after nine spectacular seasons with Real Madrid in Spain.
Ronaldo is an icon who has set and broken numerous records throughout his career, and he alongside Messi are considered to be by far the best of their generation and rightly mentioned in the debates over the Greatest of All Time.
The Madeira native is a renowned goalscorer and has won a record number of UEFA Champions League Golden Boots among other records.
His goalscoring exploits have also seen him crowned as leading marksman in both the Premier League and La Liga, and Ronaldo would look to become the first man in history to win the Golden Boots in the top flights of Spain, England and Italy. However, after three Serie A matches, the 33-year-old is yet to open his Juventus account.
Although there is no denying Ronaldo's greatness and ability to constantly rise above cynicism and exceed expectations, it would be an arduous task for him to finish as the Serie A top goalscorer. Here are seven reasons why it would be difficult for Ronaldo to finish as Serie A's Capocannoniere.
#7 Juventus' conservative style of play
Ronaldo has had the luxury of playing for mostly out and out attacking sides for most of his career, and the higher emphasis placed on attacking potency than defensive solidity at Manchester United under Sir Alex Ferguson and at Real Madrid over the last nine seasons ensured that Ronaldo's attacking instinct was maximized to its full potential.
At Juventus however, Cristiano would be joining a team whose utmost priority is maintaining a solid backline, with the consequent effect being that the Bianconerri rarely score too many goals, rather scoring a goal or two and shutting up shop at the back.
To put this into perspective, despite the fact that Juventus have won the Serie A title in each of the last three seasons, they were only the third highest goalscorers in the league in 2016 and 2017 with 75 and 77 goals respectively (behind Roma and Napoli), with their goal tally rising to 86 last season. In contrast, Real Madrid scored 110, 106 and 94 goals in the same number of matches over the last three seasons.
Ronaldo is undeniably a prime goalscorer who would find a way to adapt his game to any circumstance. However, the sheer attention placed on Juventus' defensive solidity at the expense of attacking threat means that it would be more difficult for Ronaldo to finish as Serie A highest goalscorer.