The legendary Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon stated that the arrival of Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo at Juventus destroyed the club’s chances of winning the UEFA Champions League. Buffon, who played for Juventus from 2001 to 2018 before leaving for a one-season adventure with Paris Saint-Germain, and then returning to the club until the summer of last year, explained that "Juventus had a chance to win the Champions League in Ronaldo's first year with the team (2018). At that time, I was in Paris; I don't know what happened."
He added, "When I returned to Juventus, I worked with Ronaldo for two years; we performed well, but Juventus lost its DNA as a team." The seasoned goalkeeper continued, "We reached the Champions League final in 2017 (before Ronaldo came), and we gained the necessary experience."
Buffon held Ronaldo responsible for the complacency among Juventus players, stating, "There was strong competition within Juventus among several players to be in the starting lineup, but we lost that with Ronaldo's arrival." Ronaldo joined Juventus in the summer of 2018 from Real Madrid, aiming to help the Italian team win the Champions League title, which they had not claimed since 1995. However, that did not materialize, and the "Don" left disappointed for Manchester United during the last summer transfer window.
