Ronaldo: Juventus Fan Ovation for UCL Goal Helped Sway Decision to Join Club
Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that the standing ovation he received for his bicycle kick at the Juventus Stadium in April helped convince him to join I Bianconeri this summer.
Ronaldo scored the incredible strike, which has been nominated for the UEFA Goal of the Season award, in the first leg of Real Madrid's Champions League semifinal, which they won 3-0 in Turin.
Such was the brilliance of the goal, many Juventus fans stood to applaud the Portuguese superstar in appreciation of what they had witnessed.
Just over three months later, Ronaldo signed for Juventus in a €100m deal, and he has admitted that the reaction to his acrobatic goal was one of the factors which persuaded him to join.
"The small details make the big difference at the end of the day so…I would say what I saw in the stadium helped [the transfer]," Ronaldo said, quoted by Goal. "Not 100 per cent of course but some parts make you think.
"It was in my opinion one of the best goals of my career so far. And, of course, when the people start to applaud me in the stadium I was like, ‘wow'.
"It surprised me a lot because this has never happened in my life, so it was an unbelievable moment."
Ronaldo helped Real Madrid go on to win the Champions League last season, and Juventus brought him to the club in the hope that he could do the same for them.
The Italian champions have lost five finals since they last won the competition in 1996.
