Why Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus is good for football
Cristiano Ronaldo has been officially unveiled on Monday as a Juventus player with great fanfare after he left Real Madrid for a staggering transfer fee of 100 million Euros. The club even promoted #CR7DAY on social media, leading to his unveiling and offered him jersey no. 7 which Ronaldo has made his own in his spectacular career with Real Madrid and Manchester United, and his national team Portugal.
Ronaldo has been considered as one of the greatest players of his generation alongside Lionel Messi, if not of all times. He had a tremendous stint at Real Madrid, winning plenty of silverware, including four UEFA Champions League titles in 5 years.
However, he might feel that he has been betrayed by his former club Real Madrid and his fans around the world might have been left disappointed on Real Madrid letting him go. But, his move to Juventus is certainly not so much of a bad thing. In fact, for the game of football, his transfer to Juventus is a good thing to happen for the following reasons:
#1 Spanish La Liga desperately needed succession to Messi vs Ronaldo
Football fans all around the world have enjoyed the Lionel Messi vs Cristiano Ronaldo rivalry for quite some time and both have entertained fans worldwide with their sizzling display of skills, stamina and charisma.
The pair has won Ballon d'Or award, the most coveted award in football, between them for the last 10 years, with each player bagging it 5 times. The rivalry gave La Liga tremendous mileage in terms of branding and El Clasico remains one of the most watched football matches around the world.
But, with both the players approaching the end of their stunning careers, Spanish La Liga desperately needed succession to this rivalry. Now with Real Madrid selling Ronaldo, the Messi vs Ronaldo rivalry is now almost over.
Real Madrid, with so much of spending power, is expected to inject few new players in their squad which will provide new life to La Liga. With some young players performing really well in the just concluded World Cup, Real Madrid might be looking at bringing some of them to strengthen their squad. This will help Real Madrid remain competitive without Ronaldo.
#2 Ronaldo’s move to Juventus might revive Italian Serie A
Italian Serie A once dominated the European football. However, ever since the scandal in Serie A and Serie B broke out in 2006, they have struggled to gain the same momentum they once had, which is also evident from the fact that they have managed to win UEFA Champions League only once in the last decade (though Juventus reached final twice in between).
Juventus, in particular, saw its brand hit an all-time low as they were relegated to Serie B. Now with Ronaldo’s entry into the team, who is one of the most prolific goal scorers of our time and the all-time leading scorer in UEFA Champions League, their performance might improve in coming years. With Ronaldo making a habit of scoring in UEFA Champions League, Juventus will forward to seeing him secure the trophy which they last won in 1996.
This will also provide much-needed marketing boost to the Serie A league. Besides, Italy is going through the financial crisis which has slowed down the investment in Serie A league. With Juventus spending so much on bringing Ronaldo to the club, other teams might be inspired to do the same.
After all, players like Ronaldo are also money-making machines and they usually return what the clubs invest in them. This will also help to elevate the standard of Serie A as a whole.