The Skipper has claimed that Juventus lost its ‘DNA’ following Cristiano Ronaldo’s arrival as the veteran goalkeeper reflected on why the Portuguese’s tenure did not result in European success for the club.
Ronaldo, 36, joined the Old Lady in 2018 from Real Madrid to much fanfare, with the Turin outfit desperate for Champions League success having missed out in the 2017 final.
However, while Ronaldo won Serie A twice with Juve, the Italians drifted further from challenging for Europe’s top prize and they finished fourth in the league last season before he moved to Manchester United.
Buffon was not in the Juventus dressing room for Ronaldo’s first season, but returned from Paris Saint-Germain in 2019 and has given his verdict on why the Turin outfit did not reach Europe’s summit.
‘Juventus had the chance to win the Champions League the first year he arrived, which was the year I was at Paris Saint-Germain, and I couldn’t figure out what happened,’ he told TUDN.com, in relation to Juve’s quarter final exit to Ajax.
‘When I returned, I worked with CR7 for two years and we did well together, but I think Juventus lost that DNA of being a team.
‘We reached the Champions League final in 2017 because we were a side full of experience, but above all we were a single unit and there was this competition for places within the group that was very strong. We lost that with Ronaldo.’
The Old Lady’s woes have continued this season and they sit fifth in the league, 12 points adrift of champions Inter despite the best efforts of returning coach Max Allegri.
The 54-year-old was in charge of the team that made the 2017 final and has been tasked with rekindling those good times, and it is reported that he did not want Ronaldo as part of his rebuild when he came back to the club.
Allegri is claimed to have said: ‘Get rid of Ronaldo, he’s blocking the growth of the team and the club.’
The Portuguese superstar scored 101 goals in 134 games, twice winning the Scudetto as well as the Italian Cup.
