Despite being Juventus' leading goal scorer for three successive seasons, five-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo is being blamed for the Serie A side's poor start to the season.
According to the Italian team's skipper, Giorgio Chiellini, the 36-year-old football mega-star's surprise move to English giants Manchester United was the main reason the Italian side suffered four defeats in a row at the beginning of their 2021-22 campaign.
In a veiled attack against Ronaldo, Chiellini claimed that, had the former Real Madrid forward left Juventus earlier, it would have proved much better for the Turin-based team as they wouldn't have had the bear the after shocks which result when a world-class player who used to give them quickfire starts leaves.
According to the Italian team's skipper, Giorgio Chiellini, the 36-year-old football mega-star's surprise move to English giants Manchester United was the main reason the Italian side suffered four defeats in a row at the beginning of their 2021-22 campaign.
In a veiled attack against Ronaldo, Chiellini claimed that, had the former Real Madrid forward left Juventus earlier, it would have proved much better for the Turin-based team as they wouldn't have had the bear the after shocks which result when a world-class player who used to give them quickfire starts leaves.
"We had reached a point in the relationship where Cristiano needed new incentives and a new team that could play for him because when he finds such a team he is decisive," Chiellini told sports outlet DAZN on Thursday.
"He has been proving it in recent months and showed it in the three years he was with us."
In a no-holds-barred attack, Chiellini even accused Ronaldo of not thinking about how his departure would affect Juve as he was looking to secure his future rather than adding value to the Serie A side.
"A rejuvenation restart programme grew here at Juventus. If Ronaldo had stayed, it would have been added value and we would have gladly exploited it, but he might be thinking more about the present than the future," Chiellini added.
He said that his team was in "shock" at Ronaldo's decision to leave Turin and they had to pay a huge price for it as they couldn't keep their focus in their first few matches of the new season.
"He left on 28 August: it would have been better for us if he had left earlier. It's something we paid for, there's a little shock in it and, in my opinion, we paid for it in terms of points," the Italian captain said blaming Ronaldo for the Old Lady's poor start to the 2021-22 season.
"Had he left on 1 August, we would have had time to prepare better," Chiellini concluded.
Although Juventus has recovered from the early jitters, winning their past eight matches in all competitions after failing to win the initial four, Ronaldo has sparkled at Old Trafford and has been the central figure in the majority of United's triumphs.
The talismanic striker scored the last goal on Wednesday, rescuing United from a precarious situation to power them to a 3-2 victory over Italy's Atalanta in their Group F Champions League clash.
It was Ronaldo's third Champions League strike of the season, taking his overall tally in the competition to a staggering 137 goals.