Former Juventus president Giovanni Cobolli Gigli has discussed how Andrea Agnelli was talked into signing Cristiano Ronaldo and its after-effects.
Ronaldo moved to Juventus shortly after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid in 2018 and they tasked the Portuguese star with helping the Bianconeri to win the European competition.
He is arguably one of the most marketable footballers in the world, so Juve believed the move would improve their balance sheet and make it easier for them to win an elusive UCL crown.
Ronaldo cost €117m and made €30m per season, an enormous investment from the Bianconeri.
It ultimately became too much for them to pay and they agreed to pay him outside their budget, which has caused them problems now.
Cobolli said via Football Italia:
“Agnelli was talked into signing Ronaldo because it would bring enormous marketing revenue and get Juve closer to the Champions League.
“However, Marotta did not agree with that at all and he stepped aside. Afterwards, the investment in Ronaldo was proved to be too expensive. Meanwhile Fabio Paratici, who had pushed for the CR7 signing, also got Juve into more investments that weighed on the balance sheet and put the club in trouble.”
Juve FC Says
Investing in Ronaldo was a great idea because he was one of the best players in the world and has so many marketing values.
However, we spent more money than we made because we had him in the squad and we are paying for it now, which is sad.
But if we had to do it again, we would probably still choose to sign Ronaldo, because why should we not be interested in one of the best players in the world?
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