No matter how big of a star you become, talks of separation with an erstwhile club always bring in vitriol and hate on most occasions. Ever since Giorgio Chiellini has aimed certain words at Cristiano Ronaldo that were hurtful, to say the least, fans of Juventus have been spewing hate at the Portuguese sensation who played for a couple of years at the Old Lady of Turin.
Former Manchester United defender, Patrice Evra opened up about how Cristiano Ronaldo’s desire to be loved and revered, acted as the catalyst for him to be back at Old Trafford. After an insane transfer window drama of 24 hours, a few wild rumours and a couple of emphatic phone calls paved the path for the Portuguese sensation to head home.
🗣 "Cristiano's a machine. He was playing table tennis and Rio beat him and we were all screaming. Ronaldo was so upset. Then he sent his cousin to buy a table tennis. He trained for two weeks and came back and beat Rio in front of everyone. That’s Cristiano.”
Advertisement– Patrice Evra pic.twitter.com/cBAZ8WqLYs
— Devils of United 🔰 (@DevilsOfUnited) August 15, 2019
Cristiano Ronaldo’s heroics at Juventus
During his stint for Juventus, Ronaldo lived up to his heightened sense of billing as he ushered the team to a couple of Serie A titles, a Coppa Italia and two Supercoppa wins. Ever since his departure from Juventus, a few of his erstwhile teammates has censured him for being an underperformer at Turin in his last season while Juventus boss, Andrea Agnelli has made it a point to be an ardent criticizer of the Portuguese skipper.
The two star centre-backs of the Juventus defence, Giorgio Chiellini and Leonardo Bonucci have taken sharp digs at Ronaldo, quoting, “We had lost this characteristic [playing as a team] from Juve, we were playing with a great champion like Ronaldo and we wanted to put him in a position to always do well, thinking he could solve all the matches. This year we are rediscovering that right humility that it serves to regain victory.”
Perfect movement perfect pass it’s all about timing I love playing with @Cristiano he always play with his brain 🧠 before using speed ,technique and finish Comunication was a key for our partnership @ManUtd 🔥 run 🏃 behind!!! #ilovethisgame #positive4evra #coach pic.twitter.com/QT2jqbkWh9
Advertisement— Patrice Evra (@Evra) July 21, 2021
Chiellini also added that Ronaldo should have departed earlier instead of the late drama as that would have provided them ample time to prepare better.
Patrice Evra believes that one of the primary reasons for Ronaldo departing from Juventus was that he was made the scapegoat for Juventus’ poor form in the last season.
In a season where he was labelled as the underperformer for the Old Lady, he managed to rack up 29 goals from 33 appearances in the Serie A, 4 goals from 6 games in the Champions League and overwhelming 36 goals from 44 matches throughout the season in all competitions combined. The fun fact that comes here is the man who is the closest to Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of scoring was Alvaro Morata who racked up 20 goals throughout the season.
The only person in the world that can take the pressure and be the best player in the world like Michael Jordan is @Cristiano Ronaldo. Don’t try to tap the screen for his number. 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/WDl2j0dH0V
Advertisement— Patrice Evra (@Evra) March 14, 2019
Despite all the heroics, Cristiano Ronaldo’s residence at Turin was long enough to take the blame. Speaking to La Repubblica, Evra was heard quoting, “He needs love and respect. He had understood that in Turin, he was becoming the scapegoat for Juventus’ bad results. However, many forget that it’s not easy to win in Serie A. [Andrea] Agnelli’s target is to win the Scudetto every year, not the Champions League.”
