Fans react to Ronaldo transfer as Juventus tours US
LANDOVER, Md. – After making the biggest deal of the offseason, Juventus and Real Madrid played a match without the player everyone wanted to see.
Cristiano Ronaldo left Real Madrid after nine seasons for Juventus in a reported $117 million transfer in July. Ronaldo took some time off after representing Portugal in the World Cup so he did not play Saturday night against his former team as part of the International Champions Cup. According to the team, Ronaldo participated in training Sunday morning at Juventus’ base in Continassa in Turin, Italy.
Fans at FedExField on Saturday were buzzing about the recent deal, some excited and others not so much.
“I really don’t care for him, to tell you the truth,” said Ana Maria, who has been a Juventus fan for the last 10 years. “It doesn’t make a difference to me. I just feel like he’s just so arrogant.”
“I’m very upset, very upset,” said Davoud Zand, who roots for Real Madrid. “I don’t know what’s going to happen now. Juventus should be fine.”
Ronaldo finished second among La Liga scorers with 26 goals last season. With Ronaldo on the roster, Real Madrid has won the Champions League three consecutive seasons. The 33-year-old scored a record 450 goals in 438 matches for the club.
The star forward has earned the Ballon d’Or, the award for soccer’s best player, the last two years and five times in his career. A player of his caliber carries weight to the point that fans will root for whatever team he’s on, Leonardo and Lauren de Lima included.
“I follow Ronaldo,” Lauren de Lima said. “He’s entertaining to watch, whether you like him or not.”
How did they react when they found out Ronaldo wouldn’t be playing at FedExField?
“We were disappointed,” said Leonardo de Lima, Lauren’s husband. “We did come here with the expectation that we would see Ronaldo.”
After Real Madrid won the preseason game 3-1, Juventus manager Massimiliano Allegri said Real Madrid will always be a competitive club, with or without Ronaldo. He also said he’s happy to have a player who brings the experience that Ronaldo has, especially on the international stage.
“It will be a pleasure to coach Cristiano Ronaldo,” Allegri said. “Certainly, he’s one of the top players in the world, next to Lionel Messi, and I am certainly looking forward to the privilege of coaching such a fantastic player.”
Since 2012, Juventus has won every title in Serie A, the top Italian league. Real Madrid has won 33 La Liga titles, more than any other Spanish soccer team.
Neither has much of a problem winning league titles, but Juventus has struggled against Real Madrid in the Champions League. The Italian team has lost to Real Madrid in Champions League play the last two seasons, falling in the final 4-1 in 2016-17 and in the quarterfinals this year.
Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui said Juventus is a tremendous rival. He would not talk about players on other clubs as possible replacements for Ronaldo, but he said he was extremely happy with the players who saw action in Saturday’s match.
“We played very well. Everyone did,” Lopetegui said. “Now it’s up to us to keep working, keep training and prepare ourselves.”