Juventus director reveals why Cristiano Ronaldo signed for Manchester United

Cristiano Ronaldo's spell at Juventus came to an end on August 27, even though his transfer to Manchester United was not confirmed until few days later. On that day, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said that Cristiano wants to leave the club and has no intention of staying on. At that time the rumours suggested that Ronaldo could be on his way to Manchester City but it turned out with the five-time Ballon d'Or winner heading back to his proverbial home, Old Trafford. Now, according to Juventus director Federico Cherubini, Ronaldo chose United rather than cross-town rivals City because the Red Devils behaved like a "club with tradition" in their transfer negotiations. He also said that the club could not force Ronaldo to stay and while they respect him, no one is above the club.

Cherubini told Tuttosport that there weren’t the right conditions to do so. He said that Manchester United behaved differently, like a club with tradition, and there could not be a different end, given the way Ronaldo had spoken to them." We couldn’t force a player to stay in a context that he didn’t recognize anymore. We respect Ronaldo, but I share the same view as our president - Juventus' history is made by great champions, coaches, and directors, but the club remains the most important thing," Cherubini told Tuttosport.

Moise Kean returns to the Old Lady

Soon after he left, Juventus looked for a replacement for their Portuguese superstar and seemed to have found it in the form of their former player Moise Kean who left Turin back in June 2019, for Everton. The deal is reported to be worth around €20 million and the 21-year-old is said to have agreed to the personal terms. According to Romano, Juventus are not looking to sign any more players and have instead turned their attention on extending Paulo Dybala's contract, which is expiring in June 2022.

Cherubini spoke about Ronaldo's abrupt and sudden demand to leave and how they had to cope with the loss of such a mammoth figure. He added that while Ronaldo is "impossible to replace" the signing of Kean is a signal for the future.

"The week before the game against Udinese, we were sure he would stay. I don’t want to be hypocritical and say that it was nice to manage this situation on August 28. Everybody would have been happier to handle something similar a month earlier," said Cherubini.

"It’s impossible to replace Ronaldo."

"We anticipated the future by signing Kean, but it’s a signal for future generations. We brought an academy product back home. Here at Juventus, there is space for players coming from the youth sector. It’s true that he was sold two years ago, but it was for an important fee for a guy who was only 19 at that time. Today he returns to Juventus as a different and more mature player. He has so much room for improvement," added Cherubini.

(Image: AP)