Real’s objective now is to sign at least one high-profile replacement.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo has joined Juventus in a move that makes him one of the four most expensive players of all time. The deal was worth 112m euros (£99.2m).
The world-record transfer fee of £200m was paid last August by Paris St-Germain for Brazilian forward, Neymar. Around £166m was paid last July for Franch forward, Kylian Mbappe. In January, Barcelona paid Liverpool £142m for Brazilian midfielder, Philippe Coutinho.
For Juventus, the fee for Ronaldo will eclipse the £75.3m the club paid to Napoli in July 2016 for Gonzalo Higuain.
Ronaldo’s pedigree is extraordinary. He has won four Champions League trophies, two La Liga titles, two Copa del Rey trophies, three Club World Cups, three UEFA Super Cups, and two Supercopa de Espana trophies. With Real Madrid, he scored an astounding 451 goals in just 438 games–an average of 1.03 goals per game.
“The time has come to open a new stage in my life, that’s why I asked the club to accept transferring me,” Ronaldo said.
Ronaldo joined Real from Manchester United in July 2009 and, over the years, has won the Ballon d’Or as the world’s best footballer (in 2008, 2013, 2014, 2016 and 2017).
“For Real Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo will always be one of the great symbols,” said a club statement.
Real Madrid will be now be chasing players to replace Ronaldo–despite the reality that he cannot be replaced totally.
One target is Neymar. Other options include Kylian Mbappe, Eden Hazard, and Harry Kane.