Buffon opens up on Cristiano Ronaldo’s shock Man Utd transfer and says ex-Juventus star ‘rightly thinks about himself’
GIANLUIGI BUFFON insists Cristiano Ronaldo was right to think about himself when making the shock decision to move from Juventus to Manchester United.
Ronaldo, 36, departed the Serie A giants last month as he stunned the footballing world by returning to Old Trafford.
And while Buffon spent 19 years at Juventus across two spells, he understands why the Portuguese sensation decided it was time for a new challenge.
He told Radio anch'io Sport: "I don’t think the fans should be surprised. He has the reputation of a great professional who rightly thinks about himself a lot.
"In these three years he has contributed with great performances and scored many goals.
"I don’t see anything illogical in his choice to leave, he thought a lot about it.
"Juve are in a transition period, I don’t know if it’s generational or the skeleton. You pay a bit when these things happen.
"When you have a coach like [Massmiliano] Allegri, maybe you don’t reach the target, but you get close to it."
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Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 134 games for Juve during three seasons at the club.
But he has been criticised by some for failing to deliver the Italian side their first Champions League since 1996.
Yet despite his lack of European success since leaving Real Madrid, his new Man Utd teammate Bruno Fernandes is confident Ronaldo can bring them trophies.
He said: “We know the enthusiasm will be red hot, everyone knows Cristiano is in the house.
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"Everyone is very confident and happy that he is back, the players too.
“We know what he can give us, and our focus, like Cristiano’s, is to win. With him, we know we are closer to winning [trophies].”
Ronaldo is set to make his second debut for Man Utd against Newcastle at Old Trafford on Saturday afternoon.
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