Cristiano Ronaldo 's old Juventus teammate says he made the club worse.- Gianluigi Buffon said the Portuguese star made the Italian side lose its "DNA."
The legendary Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has said that the club "lost that DNA of being a team" when Cristiano Ronaldo was there.
Ronaldo spent three years at the Turin club between 2018 and 2021 before he rejoined Manchester United in the summer.
During his time in Italy, the Portuguese forward scored 101 goals in 134 games, winning two Serie A titles, two Italian Super Cups, and one Coppa Italia, but was unable to guide the club to success in the Champions League.
In his final season, the Italian club also failed to win Serie A for the first time in a decade, conceding the title to Inter Milan.
"Juventus had the chance to win the Champions League the first year he arrived, which was the year I was at Paris Saint-Germain, and I couldn't figure out what happened," Buffon, who now plays for Parma, told TUDN.com of Ronaldo.
"When I returned, I worked with CR7 for two years and we did well together, but I think Juventus lost that DNA of being a team.
"We reached the Champions League final in 2017 because we were a side full of experience, but above all we were a single unit and there was this competition for places within the group that was very strong. We lost that with Ronaldo."
Buffon isn't the only former Juventus teammate to hit out at Ronaldo.
In September, the defender Leonardo Bonucci said Ronaldo's "presence" at the club was enough for some players to take their foot off the gas.
"This was the thing, the idea that one player, even the best in the world, could guarantee Juventus victory," Bonucci said.
"Cristiano's presence had a big influence on us. Just training with him gave us something extra but subconsciously players started to think his presence alone was enough to win games.
"We began to fall a little short in our daily work, the humility, the sacrifice, the desire to be there for your teammate day after day. Over the last few years, I think you could see that."
"Maybe it was taken for granted that if we gave the ball to Cristiano he'd win us the game," he added. "But Cristiano needed the team as much as we needed him."
Ronaldo has been in fine form since returning to Old Trafford in August. In 19 games, he has scored 13 goals, including six in five games in the Champions League.