Juventus director Federico Cherubini took to the media to reveal the reason Cristiano Ronaldo left Italy to join Manchester United instead of their arch-rival City, with United acting like a “club with tradition” during transfer negotiations.
As the deadline of the summer transfer window approached, it became evident that the former Real Madrid star wanted to part ways with Juventus and had no desire to stay at Turin for the final year of his contract with the club.
Manchester City was seen to have been leading in the race to sign the legendary forward, but Cherubini admitted to the media that the Premier League defenders didn’t want to pay a fee for the Portuguese. United, on the other hand, were more than willing and ended up paying €23 million to secure the signature of their former superstar.
Speaking to Tuttosport, Cherubini was asked about City’s push for free transfer while United made extra efforts to reunite with their former player at Old Trafford.
He said via crazyvegas casino: “There weren’t the right conditions to do so. Manchester United behaved differently, like a club with tradition.
“There couldn’t be a different end, given the way Ronaldo had spoken to us. We couldn’t force a player to stay in a context that he didn’t recognise anymore.
“We respect Ronaldo, but I share the same view as our president – Juventus’ history is made by great champions, coaches and directors, but the club remains the most important thing.”
United pushed for the transfer deal as the deadline for the window was slowly encroaching, but this left Bianconeri with a little amount of time to sign a replacement to the team.
This was a situation they were not expecting to fall in, with Ronaldo resuming training and playing one or two matches for the Bianconeri this season, while Moise Kean was sent on a two-year loan to English club Everton. Now, the Italian giants were left with little choice upfront.
Regarding the unexpected departure of Ronaldo, Cherubini said via jeux casino en ligne: “The week before the game against Udinese, we were sure he would stay.
“I don’t want to be hypocritical and say that it was nice to manage this situation on August 28. Everybody would have been happier to handle something similar a month earlier.
“The only risk is that a player like Kean may not have been available at that point, not all the players are waiting until August 31 to know if Ronaldo will stay or leave.”
He continued: “It’s impossible to replace Ronaldo.
“We anticipated the future by signing Kean, but it’s a signal for future generations. We brought an academy product back home. Here at Juventus, there is space for players coming from the youth sector.
“It’s true that he was sold two years ago, but it was for an important fee for a guy who was only 19 at that time.
“Today he returns to Juventus as a different and more mature player. He has so much room for improvement.”
