Juventus is very clearly not better without Cristiano Ronaldo
Ever since Juventus were knocked out of the Champions League Round of 16, there’s been this unbelievably ridiculous argument perpetuated by some that the club must get rid of Cristiano Ronaldo. There is this backward logic stating that Juve would be a better team without Ronaldo. That when Ronaldo is on the pitch, Juve do not play as well. He is the source of the problems. He is holding back the young talent. He is an issue for Paulo Dybala.
Nod your head behind your screen if you believe this is all ridiculous. You may be like me, somebody who is not necessarily a fan of Ronaldo personally. You may also find the “Ronaldo FC” brigade to be a nuisance at times, particularly those who act as if Federico Chiesa and Dybala are not great players. But at the same time, you also find it disingenuous when people act as if Juventus would be better without the leading goal-scorer in Serie A.
Well, Ronaldo was unable to add to his scoring tally this weekend against Atalanta. Because he didn’t play. CR7 missed the match with an injury, which is a rarity. In his place, Dybala and Alvaro Morata had a chance to increase their value by starting together up top.
Instead, Juventus were woeful. They created nothing. I do not blame Dybala, who was starting at less than 100 percent fitness due to a recent injury. Nor do I blame Morata, who was starved for service by an inept midfield and a woeful tactical setup from Andrea Pirlo.
The issues for Juventus at Atalanta are the same when Cristiano Ronaldo plays and they win anyway
But the midfield issues, the lack of fitness for Dybala, and the tactical inexperience from a new manager are all existing problems for Juventus. They are ever-present even when Cristiano Ronaldo plays. Yet they have not stopped him from putting the ball in the back of the net 25 times this season.
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Without Ronaldo, Juventus were horrible against Atalanta. They scored nothing. They created nothing. They achieved nothing. In a must-win match against a team just one point behind them in the table, Juve embarrassed themselves with one of their most toothless performances in a season filled with such displays.
Can you imagine a full season of this spectacle of ineptitude without Ronaldo? I do not even want to think of it. Juventus without Ronaldo is a circus. They are a comedy of sloth. There is no desire in this team without the drive of a multi-time Champions League winner and Ballon d’Or winner. Aside from a couple of players, Juve looked like they didn’t care against Atalanta. They did not look like Juventus.
As much as Ronaldo is painted as an outsider, he embodies the spirit of the club more than many of his teammates. The media may want to portray Ronaldo as a man with contempt for the badge who throws his kit on the ground, when, in truth, he has been a professional on the pitch and is an elite scorer.
Juventus’ struggles with or without Cristiano Ronaldo are down to poor squad-planning, not the player
Ronaldo’s wages are not the issue. What of the wages being paid to the mediocre likes of Alex Sandro and Adrien Rabiot? Or to Aaron Ramsey, who never even plays?
We can acknowledge that there are players on this team we root for more than Ronaldo. Like Matthijs de Ligt. Or Chiesa. Or Weston McKennie. We can acknowledge that there are people who follow the club only for him and not for the love of the club and that this is annoying.
But what we cannot do is lie. What we cannot do is ignore what we have seen on the pitch in front of us.
Juventus are much, much better when Cristiano Ronaldo plays. It is not that they rely on him. It is not that he is bigger than the club. It’s just the simple fact that he is Serie A’s leading goal-scorer and a world-class player. How could Juve not be better with him?
Next. Juventus Player Ratings at Atalanta. dark
That they are so poor without Ronaldo is an indictment of the board’s squad-building, and it is a fact we must acknowledge plainly. However, if it were not for the No. 7, Juve would be fighting for a Europa League place. This should be seen as an embarrassment to Juventini. But in your frustration, do not dump all the anger on one player. As we saw against Atalanta, he is not the one to blame.