Buffon's harsh analysis of the day Cristiano Ronaldo arrived at Juventus: "He made us lose our DNA"
When Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Juventus from Real Madrid, the Italian club's intention was to add a top-level figure to transfer its power in Italy to the and fight for the UEFA Champions League. He did not achieve his goal, which generated some criticism and analysis, such as that of the experienced Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon, who made a strong reflection on the passage of CR7 through Turin.
In an exclusive talk with Hristo Stoichkov for the TUND sports channel in Mexico, Gigi Buffon confessed that the unity and communion that existed in the Vecchia Signora's dressing room was lost when the Portuguese star made his landing in Italy.
“Juventus had the opportunity to win the Champions League the first year I arrived, which was the year I was at Paris Saint-Germain, and I couldn't understand what happened. When I came back, I worked with CR7 for two years and we did well together, but I think Juventus lost that DNA of being a team”, assured the current Parma goalkeeper.
Buffon believes that before the arrival of Cristiano they were very close to being European champions because there was a great collective spirit at Juve, something that was left in the background when the Portuguese artilleryman joined them. “When we reached the Champions League final in 2017 it was because we were an experienced team and we worked as a unit. There was that competition within the group for the positions in the eleven. We lost that with Ronaldo”, he pointed out.
It's something similar to what Leonardo Bonucci pointed out on some occasions, who months ago made some similar comments about Ronaldo's influence at Juventus. “Just training with him gave us something extra, but unconsciously the players began to think that his mere presence was enough to win games . We started to fall a little short in our daily work, the humility, the sacrifice, the desire to keep up with your teammate. In recent years, I think you can see that," Bonucci said in an interview with The Athletic.
At 43 years old, after many seasons as one of the best in the elite, Gigi Buffon is still active and confessed that he has no plans to retire. In addition, he commented that he does not rule out playing outside of Italy again: “Not having won the Champions League is what keeps my competitive spirit alive . I'm in good shape and I respect my profession for it. Maybe if I had won it I would have retired because I would not have any important goal to achieve. I would like to play in Mexico or the United States. I would like to have these experiences, but we'll see what happens. Then I don't know if I'll be a manager or a coach."
He was also consulted about who are the best goalkeepers today and he did not hesitate to give the list of his favorites. “Oblak, Courtois, Neuer, Ter Stegen, Donnarumma, Navas... I don't have any that are above the others. Donnarumma is the one who can climb that step, he has the potential to stand out from the rest a year from now”, he explained.
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