Can Ronaldo make Serie A thrive again?
Performance (all competitions) in 2017-18
CRISTIANO RONALDO
Cristiano Ronaldo decided to call it time on his Real Madrid adventure, it ended Spain’s decade-long housing of the world’s best that included him and Lionel Messi.
“La Liga no longer has the two best players in the world,” Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho had said after Ronaldo’s move to Juventus. “Now, one is in Spain and the other is in Italy.”
As anticipated, Ronaldo’s transfer to the Italian champions, which reportedly cost 100m euros (nearly ₹797 crore now), had seismic effects. In the days after his official unveiling, Juventus’ stock price increased by approximately 32%, according to a report by auditors KPMG, and there was a big spike in shirt sales.
In Turin, where Juventus is based, pizzas and ice-creams were handcrafted and branded in Ronaldo’s name. The club’s social media following went up by almost 1.5 million in less than a day. (Real Madrid to Juventus) After a nine-year tryst with Real Madrid, Ronaldo shocked the world by announcing his move to Juventus even though he had three more years on his contract. Ronaldo has signed a four-year deal with Juventus. During his stint, Ronaldo led Real Madrid to four Champions League titles, winning four of his five Ballon d’Or awards during this time. (͈795.4 crore) Goals Appearances Assists 6 DAYS TO GO
RIYAD MAHREZ
But Ronaldo’s transfer to Italy, more than boosting Juventus’ already stable success rates, could begin a revival of sorts for Serie A.
GOLDEN YEARS
In the period from 1989 to 1999, there was an Italian club in every European Cup or Champions League final barring two and the Serie A boasted of having seven Ballon d’Or winners.
Africa’s first and only Ballon d’Or winner George Weah also got the honour during his time with AC Milan in 1995. The Italian league had become the home to world’s finest talent, a dream destination for players from across the globe. It was a time when Inter Milan had managed to lure Brazil’s Ronaldo from Barcelona.
Five different Italian teams broke the world transfer record between 1984 and 2000. In 2000, Lazio spent a world record 36 million pounds (now almost ₹322.4 crore) on Hernan Crespo, a fee that could only be matched by the English Premier League in 2011 when Liverpool paid that much to buy Andy Carroll from Newcastle United.
But then the ‘Calciopoli’ scandal broke in 2006 and Italy’s football empire came crashing down.
News of dealings between top clubs and referees to fix matches (Leicester to Man City) ItwasMan City’s first signing during the transfer window. The Algerian could have joined (͈539.1 crore) earlier but for failed talks with Leicester. The attacking midfielder has signed a five-year contract with City and will wear the No 26 shirt after completing a record deal in July. Mahrez had helped Leicester win the 2015-16
Premier League title. Goals Appearances Assists
ALISSON BECKER
(Roma to Liverpool) Brazil’s No 1 goalkeeper, Becker signed a six-year contract after Liverpool agreed with (͈496.9 crore) Roma on a world record transfer for a goalkeeper. The €62.5 million deal shattered the record €40m deal City had brokered with Benfica for Ederson in
2017. Becker is a much-needed addition after Loris Karius’ mistakes led to Liverpool’s defeat in May’s Champions League final. Appearances Clean sheets saw Juventus relegated to the second division. AC Milan, Fiorentina and Lazio also had points deducted for their role in the scandal. And in a year that had Italy rejoicing after their fourth World Cup triumph, there was also an exodus of talent from the league. Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Fabio Cannavaro departed from Juventus along with a number of other world-class players leaving Serie A hollow.
THE NUMBERS GAME
With Ronaldo’s arrival, the Serie A has a Ballon d’Or winner for the first time since Kaka in 2007 (and, of course, Ronaldo has five of them).
“Now everyone looks at Italy for Ronaldo, the Premier League because it’s the best league and Spain for [Lionel] Messi. Serie A has become one of the most important championships in the world. In football, everything can change,” said Mourinho, Ronaldo’s former boss at Real.
According to Deloitte, Serie A saw its revenue grow by eight per cent to more than €2 billion (now ₹15,924 crore) for the first time in 2016-17 with an increase of €91 million (now ₹724.6 crore) in 2015-16.
More than three-quarters of it was attributed to Internazionale (Inter Milan) following the club’s acquisition by Chinese electronics
MALCOM
(Bordeaux to Barcelona) Thiswasa highly controversial transfer as Barcelona swooped in last minute to (͈333.9 crore) sign a €42 million deal with the Bordeaux forward a day after Roma announced their own deal. This was yet another high-profile Barcelona signing after getting Ousmane Dembele last year. Left high and dry, Roma are reportedly exploring legal options. Goals Appearances Assists
STAR ATTRACTION Juventus’ signing of Portuguese star could propel Italian league back into limelight MUMBAI:When
retailer Suning in June 2016. So imagine what Ronaldo, the most popular athlete on social media with a personal brand value of close to €40 million (almost ₹318.5 crore) now, can bring.
EUROPEAN GLORY
Coming back to Bianconeri’s gains, Ronaldo’s addition will surely boost their chances of European glory. For a club that has won seven Serie A titles on the trot, only Champions League (CL) success has evaded them. They came up short against Messi’s Barcelona in the 2015 final and Ronaldo’s Real in the 2017 showpiece.
But now they have the most successful player in CL history in their ranks. Even without goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and striker Gonzalo Higuain, Ronaldo’s unrelenting form in the CL — he has finished topscorer for six consecutive seasons — could see a change in Juve’s European fortunes. Especially after the return of centreback Leonardo Bonucci.
And even at 33, when ‘players move to China and Qatar’, Ronaldo’s medical with the Old Lady showed that his physical capacity is that of a 20-year-old, underlining his considerable powers to deliver on the biggest stage.
GIANLUIGI BUFFON
(Juventus to PSG)
He could have easily retired from Juventus where he is treated as a living legend but at 40,
Gianluigi decided to move out of Italy for the first time in his career. The goalkeeper, who has won 176 caps for Italy, saw all the lows and highs of Juventus in a glittering 17-year stint. He has signed a one-year contract with PSG with an option of additional seasons. Appearances Clean sheets
KYLIAN MBAPPE
(Monaco to PSG)
PSG completed the process of buyingtheWorldCupwinnerafter he played out a season on loan from Monaco. PSG were obligated to buy him once they officially avoided relegation. Apart from becoming the most expensive teenage footballer of all time, Mbappe also became the second most expensive transfer of all time. Goals Assists (͈1,431.2 crore) Appearances