Cristiano Ronaldo News: "I don’t think Ronaldo chose to come to Italy, he chose Juventus," says Gianluigi Buffon
What's the story?
Gianluigi Buffon believes that Cristiano Ronaldo chose to come to Juventus, rather than Italy in general.
In case you didn't know...
Ronaldo arrived at Juventus last summer and recently completed his debut season in Italy rather successfully. The Portuguese talisman played an influential role in the Bianconeri's eighth consecutive Serie A triumph.
Signed to primarily strengthen the Old Lady's European bid, the 34-year-old demonstrated the power of experience and his big-game abilities in the Champions League. The Round of 16 fixture against Atletico Madrid saw the former Real Madrid man single-handedly wreak havoc on his former rivals' defence, netting a phenomenal hat-trick to overturn Juventus' two-goal deficit and book their place in the quarter-finals.
The Italian champions, however, encountered a shock defeat to an youthful Ajax side in the quarter-finals to crash out of the competition.
Ronaldo finished the campaign with 21 league goals for Juventus and was named Serie A's Most Valuable Player of the Year for his exploits.
The heart of the matter
In an interview with Italian sports daily Corriere dello Sport, Juventus legend Buffon reflected on Ronaldo's move to Italy and heaped praise on the Portuguese forward for the example he sets for his teammates.
"Cristiano? I don’t think Ronaldo chose to come to Italy, he chose Juventus. If you’ll allow me to say, it’s a different reality to the others.
"We met up in Turin and I don’t think Ronaldo is pretending to be the perfect champion. He is simply someone who set himself personal and professional goals and spent all his life trying to achieve them. He sets the example."
What's next?
While Ronaldo recently won the UEFA Nations League with Portugal, Buffon announced his departure from Paris Saint-Germain earlier this month.