07 July 2023 , 06:52
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It was a transfer that stunned European football.
Five years ago, Cristiano Ronaldo - the greatest player in Real Madrid's long and illustrious history - left the Bernabeu for Juventus. He told fans his time in the Spanish capital was "the happiest of my life", but that wasn't enough for him to retire there.
Real fans couldn't quite believe it. Ronaldo was still at the top of his game after scoring 44 goals and winning a third consecutive Champions League title the previous season. He was also the Ballon d'Or holder and winning the "GOAT" battle with Lionel Messi.
So, why did he leave Spain? Here's the story of how Ronaldo's sangria turned sour.
Ronaldo's exit from Real wasn't an overnight affair. In fact, it took four months for the Portugal international, now 38, to go from the club's most important to player to Juventus' record signing at £88million - with all of this happening behind the scenes.
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The saga started with a chance encounter between Ronaldo's agent Jorge Mendes and Juventus' sporting director Fabio Paratici. The latter has revealed: "When we played in Madrid, Mendes came over to us like it usually happens on Champions League matchdays.
"I told him, 'Cristiano’s scored some incredible goals'... He looks at me and replies, 'You won’t believe it but Cristiano, if he changes teams, wants to join Juve. Keep in mind it’s less strange than you may think. We’ll talk about it later'."
It was a comment that meant little at the time, but Paratici would've been very excited after hearing what Ronaldo had to say three months later. Real had just beaten Liverpool 3-1 to win the Champions League, again, and the superstar seemed in a sombre mood.
Ronaldo's relationship with Florentino Perez broke down (Getty Images)Do you remember Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus? Let us know in the comments below!
"In the next few days I’ll give an answer to the fans who have always been by my side," he said. "It was beautiful to be at Real Madrid."
"Was" - a word that suggested the writing was on the wall. Real's president Florentino Perez wasn't happy with those comments. He replied: "Now is not the time for individual issues; the club is more important than anyone. I am glad he has five European Cups, like me. The same thing is heard every summer and then nothing happens."
Ronaldo soon admitted the timing of his comments was wrong, but insisted he had "something to say" and money was "not the problem". He was clearly frustrated by something... or someone. His relationship with Perez had broken down.
Ronaldo later admitted: "I felt it inside the club, especially from the president, that they no longer considered me the same way that they did in the start. In the first four or five years there, I had the feeling of being ‘Cristiano Ronaldo’. Less afterwards.
"The president looked at me through eyes that didn’t want to say the same thing, as if I was no longer indispensable to them, if you know what I mean. That’s what made me think about leaving.
"Sometimes I’d look at the news, where they were saying I was asking to leave. There was a bit of that, but the truth is that I always had the impression that the president would not hold me back... at Juve, they really wanted me."
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There was no denying the latter part of that quote. Suddenly, that brief chat between Mendes and Paratici was important. Mendes was keen to remind the Juventus chief about it when they met to discuss Joao Cancelo's move to Juventus in 2018.
According to Paratici, Mendes said: "Remember the other thing - you’ll see Ronaldo leave Madrid. I’ll tell you clearly the player only wants to sign for Juve.
Ronaldo left Madrid to join Italian giants Juventus (Getty Images)"He played for Manchester United, who are the biggest English team, then Real Madrid. He only plays for teams with history. He’s never played in Italy, he wants to win the Italian title too. If you want him, he’s there."
Paratici obviously wanted to sign Ronaldo and Mendes told him exactly how much he would cost. Paratici took this information to Juventus' chair Andrea Agnelli, who promised in 2014: "One day, we will be able to sign players like Cristiano Ronaldo."
Agnelli made the pledge to angry fans at a shareholders' meeting, who were annoyed at the lack of investment in the squad. This was Agnelli's chance to deliver on that promise... and he didn't let the fans down. Juventus broke the bank to sign Ronaldo.
Not only did the Serie A champions pay £88m for a 33-year-old, they also handed him a wage of more than £500,000 per week to make him the best paid player in Italy. Yet it was an investment Juventus thought they needed to make to win the Champions League.
The Portuguese superstar eventually returned to Manchester United (Getty Images)Winning that competition had become an obsession for Juventus. They were dominant in Serie A - winning seven consecutive titles - but hadn't lifted the European Cup since 1996. Since then, they had lost five finals - including in 2015 and 2017.
That was Ronaldo's mission in Italy. The five-time Champions League winner needed to add another European title to his collection for Juventus. Although he scored 101 goals and won five trophies - including two Serie A titles - success in Europe eluded them.
Ronaldo eventually left Juventus in August 2021 to rejoin Manchester United. He's now playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, while Juventus are struggling to cope with their financial woes. It's fair to say his move to Juventus didn't work out as hoped.
But what about Perez? Real's president remains in charge and celebrated a winning 14th Champions League crown in May 2022. Perhaps Ronaldo should've swallowed his pride and stayed in Madrid. Only he will be able to tell you whether he regrets the saga.