One player doesn't make a team. Juve's transfer policy after Ronaldo has been shambles. Ronaldo basically had to carry them dragging and screaming the past 2 seasons to anything resembling a strong finish. They have Aaron Ramsey in midfield and a bunch of 30 years olds that are long past. Said transfer policy cannot be put down on Ronaldo's feet. If Juve couldn't afford him, then they should have never taken him. On top of that, the managers have been disaster - Sarri and Pirlo were never fit to lead a team such as Juventus. You say Ronaldo looked to leave. Well, what was he to do? Allegri doesn't want him, the club doesn't appreciate him, they bashed him all the time even if he contributed for 90% of the goals and he was always the scapegoat because they didn't win the CL. Well, the CL is a knockout competition. Not every time the best team wins it. Otherwise we'd have 10 CL's by now at least.
He didn't want to stay in Juve for obvious reasons. Why wouldn't you go back to a club that loves you and rather stay in a club that bashes you constantly and blames you for all of their woes despite your contribution? Juve could also never hope to compete for anything outside Serie A. Why? They mostly coasted on Conte's success. Once said signings wore off due to time, they went right back to where Conte first took them. That's a problem Juve has to deal with. And again, it's best for both sides that Ronaldo has to leave. He might be the best or joint best or second best player to ever play the game, but it is also a player that they could never support financially.
United finished second but we never challenged for the league. We coasted mostly on individual performances, especially on Bruno. We never looked a threat to City and quite honestly - the way it's going, it doesn't seem like this season we would be either (unless Ronaldo severely changes us). This is why winning the league with us would be so significant. If Messi wins the CL, so what? He basically has assembled his prime Barcelona team with possibly the most deadly attacking trio in existence. Where is the challenge in that? On top of that, they have a top-tier coach in Pochettino.
As far as Ronaldo's "failures", this is absurd. Sure, they've underachieved prior to Ancelotti first stint, but then again - they faced a monstrous Barcelona team that not many teams would ever be able to go toe-to-toe against. He still gave Madrid's their best or second best period in history after Di Stefano when Madrid before Ronaldo went where the joke of Europe and irrelevant past their own bubble in Spain and the latin countries. His contribution was immense in giving them 4 CL titles. And I'd argue it was better achievement because as great as Di Stefano was, the CL was nowhere near as competitive back in his time than during Ronaldo's days. It was a competition of teams you probably haven't even heard with the only notable one being Milan. England wasn't even in the competition.
There's only so much you can carry the walking cripples that is this Juventus team, and the everlasting "youngster" with the potential to be world beater that is Dybala... who is starting to remind me of Jesse Lingard in that regard.
-- says in a previous comment " But if Ronaldo wins the PL or CL with us, then Ronaldo would be the clear better and more accomplished player, save for Messi winning the WC. Nothing he can do with PSG is going to impress, even the CL," probably
one of the most absurd comments of all time in this thread & that tells a lot, and when shown Ronaldo's CL failures at Juve, remembers football is a team game, CL is a knockout competition and even the best may not win the CL)) the level of hypocrisy..
-- All of a sudden Juve becomes "a crippling team" after their regular failures with Ronaldo) You can continue creating an alternative history in your parallel universe looking down on Juve that already won 7 Serie A titles and played 2 CL finals in 4 years prior to his arrival, and, yes, with that "Dybala"..
-- What does Conte have to do with this?? It was Allegri, the current Juve manager, that took them to two CL finals in 2015 & 2017 and brought them 5 Serie A titles in his 5-year stint there.. what are you smoking?
-- While you're at it, also tell us why he wanted to go to Juve in a
one-team Serie A and not to PL (to United or others) at that time or stay in La Liga to improve his poor league record, for the challenge, yeah right)) It took Ronaldo "9 years" to get two league titles in La Liga while it took him just two years to get the same number in Serie A..so much challenge)
-- Talks like it was a well organized move.. your hero literally had to escape from Juve the moment things got more challenging at Juve, a coward move lacking class & professionalism by all accounts of
Juve fans saying he should at least move earlier so that they could look for a proper replacement.. And why last minute? Because that was the only time he finally managed to get some concrete interest after months of being on the market & desperation after Kane's signing failure with City) I prefer to listen to Juve fans and credible reports than a random poster on a United forum that thinks winning a CL with PSG is nothing in one place and says even the best may not win the CL as it is a knock-out tournament in another)
-- completely ignores that United is easily a top 3-side in the Premier League and a top 4-5 side in CL, and way better than current Juve by any measure..and calls this desperate last-minute move a well-planned challenge again)
-- ignores as usual that Messi is coming to a team that has not won a single CL and played only a single final in its history in the CL let alone winning it and only won 3 league titles in 5 years versus Juve that won 7 times in a row and played 2 finals in the previous 4 years before Ronaldo's arrival..
-- conveniently ignores just like many other Ronaldo fans the fact that Ronaldo played under some of the legends of the managerial world, SAF, Mourinho, Allegri, and Ancelotti, all serial winners, and just
decides to remember the standard notion in the football world that
"managers matter a lot" when Messi starts playing under Pochettino (who is not comparable to any of those top managers Ronaldo worked with btw)..mind-blown as usual by the level of hypocrisy..
-- says that Real was a bubble team completely ignoring that Real won 3-CLs between 1998 and 2002)).. Tell that bubble story to Zidane, Raul, Roberto Carlos etc. & Real fans.. I am sure they will find it fascinating))