Football
Dermot CorriganBen Gladwell 6y

Cristiano Ronaldo joins Juventus: How European media reacted to end of era

The morning after Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Real Madrid to Juventus was confirmed, the Spanish media was torn between saluting his contribution at the Bernabeu, debating why he was leaving now, and wondering how he could ever be replaced ...

Marca: There will never be anyone like him. Cristiano leaves, the legend of the 451 goals

AS: Ciao, Cristiano - it was nice while it lasted

Sport: Shock Cristiano - Madrid accept the request of their star and sell him to Juventus for €105m. The Blancos club are left without their references following his and Zidane's goodbyes, and Florentino must get his chequebook out

Mundo Deportivo: CR Sette - Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Real Madrid and heads for Juve, four years and 112 million. After losing their marquee player (450 goals in nine years), Florentino launches his net for Neymar

El Mundo: Cristiano Ronaldo, the man who changed the modern history of Real Madrid

"Record club goalscorer with 450 and all-time "pichichi" in the Champions League (120), he leaves after nine years and 16 trophies including four Champions Leagues. His figure now sits on the same level as (Alfredo) Di Stefano and he will continue at Juventus a rivalry with (Lionel) Messi which remains the biggest in football. Cristiano Ronaldo goes into Real Madrid's history as the man who was a step forward, an untiring guy whose desire to always want to score converted the best club of the 20th century into one which dominated Europe at the start of the 21st."

Marca: 33 now, Madrid just got tired of his threats

"Cristiano left and Real Madrid began to lose. Or to draw, which is the same for this club at which only victory counts. Accustomed during the last nine years to starting games winning 1.029 to zero when the Portuguese was playing, Los Blancos will now have to accept the hard reality of beginning again at 0-0 ... But if any club are able to take on such a loss, it is them ... Cristiano leaves Real Madrid as he has been threatening to for years, without realising that one day they would call his bluff and open the door."

El Pais: Goals are not love

"Football is so entangled that 45 days after becoming European champion for a third consecutive year, Real Madrid have lost their two principal symbols - Zinedine Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo. It appears like there are not enough trophies or goals to satisfy everybody. It happened with the coach, and now the one to flee is the icon of the last nine years. And, in both cases, the divorces were not just down to money. You just have to contrast the cold goodbye between CR and the club -- with two statements -- and Zidane's public emotional goodbye."

La Gazzetta dello Sport: I'm coming

"Incredible but true -- he's coming! What seemed to be merely a dream until just a few days ago or, for the sceptics, just a midsummer fairy tale, has come true with a memorable trip to Greece for Andrea Agnelli, who brings home a trophy decorated with five Ballons d'Or: Cristiano Ronaldo, the best in the world, will grace our stadiums in a Bianconeri shirt for the next four years."

Il Corriere dello Sport: Fiat Lux

"Ronaldo, the one who had us all watching Real-Barca on TV with almost Spanish eyes and hearts. With him (and Lionel Messi) on the field, the Clasico was always an unmissable event. Ronaldo, the man of three straight Champions Leagues. Ronaldo, the man of the acrobatic overhead kick applauded by the whole Juventus Stadium, an ovation which touched him deeply. Yes, that Ronald is now at Juve."

Tuttosport: Here he is!

"Bem-vindo is the salute Tuttosport gives today to Ronaldo, the genuine phenomenon, sporting and for the media, of world football. It's the most ambitious financial effort Juve have ever made, but they have picked the right man at the right time to land the signing of the century, so amazing that it puts Serie A back at the centre of the world's attention, immediately multiplying the media interest around the world. In autumn, Juve will turn 121, but they have never been in such good shape."

La Stampa: Ronaldo to Juve takes Italian football into the next generation

"A phenomenal signing, one of those events which will be etched in the memories. It's all true. The deal of the century is no longer just a sweet dream but solid reality. Cristiano Ronaldo becomes a Juventus player in a July day that Bianconeri fans are going to be hard pushed to forget, but at the same time it represents an historic turning point for Italian football. The best player in the world, capable of winning five Champions Leagues and five Ballons d'Or leaves Real Madrid, the champions of everything to move to Serie A in a move which re-writes the history books, boundaries and hopes."

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