Juventus vice-president and club legend Pavel Nedved has clarified that Cristiano Ronaldo had wanted to leave Real Madrid for the Bianconeri, which made the entire transfer more feasible.
Speaking in an interview with Czech media outlet iDNES (via juvefc.com), Nedved added that winning the Champions League is a goal that will be focused on going forward.
“We are very happy that we could welcome to our team such a world class player like Ronaldo.
“As a club we have made a step forward and we want to make it count in the Champions League, which has been set as our objective in the next years.”
On his thoughts about Ronaldo so far -
“He is amazing from all aspects. He is a player who is working very hard on himself. He is a leader, he doesn’t even have to speak and the players follow him. Our youngsters have the opportunity to train with him and get even better. Cristiano is a normal guy who loves to win and wants to be the best at everything.”
On the idea about signing Ronaldo -
“Some might have thought it was crazy. We, Juventus, are in a position where it is very difficult to buy players who are better than those in our XI. Our sporting director once suggested that we could buy Ronaldo. We had known about his buy-out clause which had been lowered to €100m, so it became more realistic.
“We had to go see the president who looked at the deal from all aspects and eventually gave his agreement. It was the right decision to get Juventus where it belongs. We want to win the Champions League, so it was a good move.”
On why he thinks Ronaldo is special -
“He is a guy who has won five Ballon D’Ors, however, during practice, it looks like he has just began his career. It’s fantastic to see him train, he always looks for a way to improve himself. It’s very positive, especially for young players who see that example every day.”
On what it took to convince Ronaldo to move -
“It was a lot easier given the fact he wanted join us. He wanted a change of environment and to leave Madrid. He has chosen our club and it is an honour for us. He managed to win in England and in Spain and we would be very happy if he can repeat it in Italy. We will give our all.”
On his role in the transfer -
“No, not really. The first meeting with our sporting director was in my home, where the idea to buy Ronaldo was brought up. Then it was him who took charge of it and the whole deal was sealed by the President. We’re glad the deal happened.”
On his advice to President Andrea Agnelli -
“I told Agnelli that it is the right move, that our team would take a step forward.
“We’ve won 7 titles in a row. Whether you want to, or not, the motivation drops – When you have the opportunity to change something, you do it. This was perfectly timed for us.”
Read the rest of interview here.