Massimiliano Allegri oversaw his final game as Juventus
coach on Sunday, after guiding the team to an eighth consecutive Serie A title
but paying the price for yet another Champions League failure despite the
sensational signing of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.
Ronaldo was left out alongside a host of other starters as
the Allegri era ended with the whimper of a 2-0 defeat at Sampdoria, having
played 31 of 38 matches and closing the season as the team’s top scorer with 21
league goals.
But helping the team to another Serie A title was not why
the 34-year-old was signed last summer.
Ronaldo had spent nine glittering seasons at Real Madrid,
lifting a fourth Champions League trophy in five seasons before moving to
Italy.
His arrival in Turin on a 100-million-euro ($115 million)
deal, plus a reported 30 million euros a year, was hailed as “the deal of the
century” by the Italian press.
But after a season in which they were expected to sweep all
before them, Juventus have won less than the previous season, with their
four-year reign as Coppa Italia holders ended in a 3-0 quarter-final defeat by
Atalanta.
Ronaldo single-handedly lifted Juventus into the Champions
League quarter-finals with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid.
But his hopes of a fourth straight European triumph were
ended when they crashed out to daring Dutch Ajax in the last eight.
Amid criticism of Allegri’s tactics, Ronaldo, who has scored
124 goals in 160 Champions League appearances, reportedly said: “I don’t work
miracles”.
“Cristiano showed us he could always score in the games that
counted. But then you have to have a strong team behind him,” said veteran
defender Andrea Barzagli.
Despite the financial fallout of failing to advance in the
Champions League, Ronaldo’s signing has been a money-spinning one for Juventus.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner is the most followed sports
star on social media with a global reach of over 340 million followers.
More fans ultimately mean more money, and suddenly Ronaldo’s
transfer fee does not look so extortionate.
The club’s value on the Milan stock exchange has rocketed by
133 per cent since his arrival last July.
Shares had been trading around 0.6 euro in mid-May, jumping
to 1.8 euro during the session on September 20, before dipping slightly
following rape allegations against Ronaldo in the United States dating back to
2009 which he vehemently denies.
Shares jumped by 30 per cent after his hat-trick catapulted
the Italian football club into the quarterfinals of the Champions League in
March.
Next season there will be a new coach on the bench with
reports that Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri, former coach of Napoli,
Tottenham’s Mauricio Pochettino and Lazio boss Simone Inzaghi is among the
candidates.
On the pitch Welsh international midfielder Aaron Ramsey
arrives in Turin from Arsenal.
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