Juventus Director Reveals How Cristiano Ronaldo's Wonder Goal Was the Catalyst for Serie A Move
Juventus director FabioParatici has revealed the club's pursuit of Cristiano Ronaldo was a direct result of his stunning bicycle kick against them in the Champions League earlier this year.
The 33-year-old was the star of the show in Turin as Real Madrid emerged as victors in their quarter final tie, but it was the five time Ballon d'Or winner who captivated the crowd and brought them to their feet.
A moment which ignited a series of events which concluded with Ronaldo officially being unveiled as the Serie A giants' newest signing earlier this week.
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"The crazy idea was born after the first match here, when Cristiano received the standing ovation after his bicycle kick," Paratici told Sky Sport Italia.
"During the week we heard from his agent, he told me that Cristiano was struck by all the attention he received. He said, 'he would like to come and play for Juventus one day.' I told him, there are many dreams but few come true."
The crux of the €100m deal for the Portugal international, however, came about as a result of Joao Cancelo's move to Turin as the pair share the same agent in Jorge Mendes.
Paratici added: "Then when we met again for Cancelo he explained the situation to me. We were receptive to it, I spoke to the president first because, rightly so, we needed the numbers to be approved as they were the most important part of the operation.
"In a few hours he told me 'go ahead, see if the opportunity is there. The opportunity became concrete, it was a unique opportunity to bring here a player that is universally recognised as the strongest in the world, the most determined, the one who has won the most titles."
