Forget LeBron James to the Los Angeles Lakers. There is an even larger megastar moving teams this summer.
Portuguese talisman and one of the greatest soccer players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo, is joining Italian giants Juventus after nine seasons at Real Madrid, per Fox Soccer.
Multiple reports indicated last week that Ronaldo had agreed to a four-year deal worth 30 million euros per season with the signing set to being made official over the weekend.
It was considered to be just a matter of time before the signing was made official. Especially when it was reported that he was looking at French legend Zinedine Zidane’s former mansion in Turin:
Cristiano Ronaldo is house hunting in Turin!
Here’s the €40,000-a-day Italian mansion the Juventus target will look around on Saturday…https://t.co/0dlF7TUhew #Ronaldo #RMCF #Juve
— Express Sport (@DExpress_Sport) July 5, 2018
The 33-year-old Ronaldo has helped Real Madrid reach new heights during his tenure, which is difficult considering the Spanish side is already one of the greatest clubs in the sport’s history.
He’s helped them win three-consecutive Champions League crowns while becoming the most prolific goal scorer in the club’s history. In 438 appearances over his near-decade in Madrid, Ronaldo compiled a dizzying 450 goals. That’s 127 more than second-place Raul, who appeared in 303 more matches than the Portugal international. He is also the leading scorer in all UEFA competitions with 158 tallies.
But a deteriorating relationship with Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has led to the headline-stealing move.
Now Ronaldo will join a Juventus club that has dominated Italy’s Serie A for the better part of a decade.
The Turin-based club has won eight-straight league titles while making the Champions League Final twice since the 2014-15 season. Ronaldo stopped Juventus in the 2016-17 Final in a 4-1 result.
His presence on La Vecchia Signora (The Old Lady) will only tighten Juventus’ grip on Italy and make them favorites to win the Champions League next year.
