The departure of Cristiano Ronaldo did not materialize out of thin air, but its timing left Juventus in a precarious spot. After a summer filled with chatter, he announced he was transferring in the immediate lead-up of the Empoli match. The Portuguese ace acknowledged the situation while bidding farewell.
According to Il Giornale, he told coach Massimiliano Allegri and the staff: “Thank you for the patience you have had,” on August 27th. He hopped on his private jet to fly to Lisbon shortly thereafter. Manchester United leapfrogged City in the race and brought him back later that day.
Juventus operated as if Ronaldo was staying up until the final days of the window. They had laid their eyes on Edin Dzeko as a possible replacement earlier in the summer. They received a verbal commitment from him in case their star left. However, they freed up him from any obligation in late July. Allegri was content with having Ronaldo and Alvaro Morata as the main strikers. They still believed the former would not leave. The Bosnian forward then went to Inter to substitute Romelu Lukaku.
The Bianconeri opted to sign Moise Kean once their ace bolted. The deal was facilitated by Mino Raiola and ended up including also Mohamed Ihattaren. PSV had de facto frozen out the youngster due to his expiring contract. The returning Italian international will not wear no.7, as the legacy of Ronaldo would be too burdensome. He will go back to donning no.18, as he did in his previous years in Turin, Tuttosport informs.