Did Cristiano Ronaldo ruin Juventus?

The arrival of Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus FC was meant to bring the club to greater heights. It is no secret that the goal was to win the UEFA Champions League, after the club had been dominating the Italian domestic scene for most of the past decade.

However, just over two seasons later, it appears as though the exact opposite is happening. Not only has Juventus failed to secure the highly-coveted Champions League trophy, their domestic performance has also dropped significantly since the Portuguese star arrived in Turin back in 2018.

At the moment, Juventus is at risk of losing their impressive streak of consecutive Serie A titles. After winning nine straight seasons, the tenth is in jeopardy, considering the fact that Inter Milan is now enjoying a 10-point lead ahead of the title holders. Not only will they need to catch Inter, AC Milan is also four points ahead of them.

If you rewind to the previous season, Juventus won the title but it was only by a one point margin. In the past nine seasons, they have never before been that close to being caught at the top. In fact, the closest any challenger ever got was within four points. Such was their dominance before Ronaldo's arrival that they had won with a 17-point margin twice and at least a 9 to 11-point gap on other championship winning seasons.

The situation, despite the trophy, prompted the sacking of manager Maurizio Sarri. However, his replacement Andrea Pirlo has been under constant pressure and is running the risk of having a shortened stint at the helm of the club if they continue to lose ground in the league.

Obviously, the overall decline can't be pinned on Ronaldo. He is still a consistent performer and his goal tally is still as impressive as ever before. Nevertheless, there are those who are starting to feel like his arrival did not give Juventus their desired results due perhaps to the change in dynamics within the team after the superstar's arrival.

Credit is also due to be given to the other Italian clubs who have improved massively over the years. Last year's runners-up, Inter Milan, have improved by leaps and bounds. AC Milan, Atalanta and Lazio have also stepped up to the challenge.

Either way, Ronaldo's arrival did not bring Juventus European glory. The team has been in a steady decline since his arrival, and it remains to be seen if they can still turn things around.