Here's why Juventus CEO reluctant to sign Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018

Juventus former chief executive officer (CEO) Giuseppe Marotta finally opened up why he and the club administration were not on the same page when soccer star Cristiano Ronaldo was signed on a hefty a €100m deal.

Ronaldo left Real Madrid in 2018 after winning the UEFA Champions League for the third consecutive year and becoming the club’s top scorer, netting 450 goals in 438 matches over nine years.

Marotta, who left the club just months after Ronaldo completed his move to Juventus, admitted that he didn’t want to sign the Portuguese because of the massive money.

“I must recognise that I spent 10 wonderful years at Juventus, but when the owners want to adopt a different strategy, then a manager must take a step back,” he told DAZN.

“It was fair to respect the club’s desire. I partially didn’t agree with signing Ronaldo. The player can’t be questioned, but the deal was demanding in financial terms. It was not the element that brought the splitting; the cycle was over, and we had to change.”

Marotta had earlier expressed that while there were no doubts about Ronaldo’s quality as a player, he was “challenging” to work with because of his charisma.

“He was a very good player, he still is and above all, he is a great champion. The champion is that person who manages to convey beliefs to his teammates." 

"He was a bit of a leader of the team, he was the most famous and he dragged the others into the game. So, it was challenging, but he didn’t make me angry,” he told Cronache di Spogliatoio.

It is pertinent to mention here that Ronaldo played 134 matches for Juventus across three years and netted 101 goals while providing 22 assists.