Cristiano Ronaldo should have left Juventus earlier, says former teammate

Cristiano Ronaldo completed a sensational move back to Manchester United from Juventus FC this summer, and former teammate Giorgio Chiellini believes it would have been better if the Portuguese superstar left earlier.

Chiellini did not mean that he wanted Ronaldo out of the club sooner per se, but if the inevitable was to happen anyway, an earlier exit would have helped Juventus adjust and cope better. He basically confirmed just how much Juventus had been operating with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner at the centre of the program.

Due to his sudden departure, the Serie A side's pre-season preparations were basically thrown out the door. "He left on August 28th. I'm sure it would have been better for us if he had left earlier. It's something we paid for," said Chiellini while speaking to DAZN.

He then went on to say that it would have been better for the club if Ronaldo had announced his decision at the start of August instead. If he had not made such a last minute decision, the rest of the Juventus squad would have been able to regroup and prepare for a season without him.

"We would have had time to organise ourselves, we wouldn't have been thinking only about [Cristiano] and we would have begun the championship better prepared," Chiellini said, as quoted by Football Espana.

Needless to say, Juventus had been fully expecting to face the 2021/22 campaign with Ronaldo leading the pack. He had been a central figure in Turin since joining the club from Real Madrid in 2018.

During his time in Italy, Ronaldo failed to bring the UEFA Champions League trophy to the club, but he did score 101 goals on the way to lifting two Serie A titles, the Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa Italiana titles. It was a decorated three-season stint for the Portugal captain, but the UCL was always the main goal.

He called time on his Juventus story before achieving the coveted European title, and he is now back in Old Trafford. It was an emotional homecoming, with Ronaldo returning to the club that first put his name on the map before he made himself a legend at Real Madrid.

Ronaldo may be advancing in age, but is showing no signs of slowing down. Since joining United, he has scored six goals in eight games.