Juventus legend Alessio Tacchinardi has blasted Cristiano Ronaldo for leaving the club high and dry late in the summer transfer window. The Portugal captain sealed a blockbuster return to Manchester United in the final days of the summer in a deal worth £19.4million.
Heavily linked with a move to Manchester City in the final weeks of August, Ronaldo ended up returning to Old Trafford at the 11th hour. After missing out on major silverware last season, the 36-year-old decided to spell an end to his three-year stint at Juventus and have another shot in the Premier League.
Ronaldo’s departure from the Allianz Stadium so late in the summer has caused havoc in Turin, with Juventus going winless in their opening two 2021/22 Serie A outings. Indeed, Massimilano Allegri’s side went down 1-0 to newly-promoted Empoli on home turf on the eve of the international break.
Left short of reliable attacking options, I Bianconeri turned to a familiar face in the shape of Moise Kean to fill the void on the deadline day. The Italian striker has rejoined Juventus from Everton on a season-long loan with an obligation to buy next summer.
Despite Juventus’ torrid last season, Ronaldo was brilliant as always, finishing as the top-scorer in Serie A with 29 goals. Looking to reclaim the title from Inter, I Bianconeri now face an uphill task of bouncing back from a sluggish start to the season without their headline performer.
The bigger problem is that Juventus did not have time to prepare their tactics for life after Ronaldo as he decided to sever ties with the club on the stroke of the transfer window. That is the point Tacchinardi tried to make during an interview with Tuttosport.
“Ronaldo should have left in a different way, not on his private jet while Allegri was talking to the team before the game against Empoli,” he said.
“I expected a press conference to say goodbye to the fans. They deserved something different. There are no more legends such as [Alessandro] Del Piero, [Francesco] Totti, [Paolo] Maldini, or [Javier] Zanetti, but it wasn’t nice to hear from Ronaldo that he was going back to a place he feels like home.
“He put Juventus in a difficult situation, leaving a few days before the end of the transfer window. It is impossible to replace a goal machine like him.“
As for Ronaldo, he looks unfazed by leaving Juventus’ title hopes hanging in the balance. The former Real Madrid stalwart reached another milestone on Wednesday night. His quick-fire brace against the Republic of Ireland took his international tally to 111 goals, making him the all-time leading scorer in men’s international football.