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After spending 9 years with Real Madrid in the La Liga and winning almost every trophy there is to win, Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo decided to taste a new challenge in his already decorated career, leaving the Santiago Bernabeu in favor of a move to Juventus last summer.
On reaching the Serie A, Ronaldo continued to prove his class with a lot of exceptional performances, quickly establishing himself as one of the most potent attackers in the Italian top flight and rendering Juventus a match too big for local rivals to contain.
By consistently producing the spark needed to keep his side soaring higher at the domestic level, Ronaldo became Juve's standout player and his efforts made things look very easy for Massimiliano Allegri's men as they cruised to claim the Serie A title.
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Even though he wasn't able to reach the extreme standards he set for himself in the Champions League following Juve's shocking elimination by Ajax, the Portuguese has still had a brilliant campaign at his new club this season and below are 4 reasons why:
#4 He's put up great numbers
Upon switching to Turin this season and firing blanks in his first 5 games for Juventus, many people started wondering if Ronaldo would be a success for the Italian giants. But, the Portuguese isn't the type of player that will stay below the limelight for long and he proved his critics wrong once again with exceptional returns in front of goal.
Cristiano opened his account for Juventus with a brilliant finish against Sassuolo during a league encounter in September last year and ever since then, he has been going from strength to strength in the Italian top flight.
The attacker has recorded an impressive 20 goals and 11 assists to his name in 28 Serie A appearances so far this term and he remains in the race for the Serie A Golden Shoe. He also recorded 6 goals to his name in 9 Champions League appearances for the Bianconeri this season, raising his tally for the season to 27 goals across all competitions and he will be keen to add even more before the end of the term.
#3 A new experience
In the previous slide, we saw that Cristiano Ronaldo has had another prolific outing in front of goal, as evidenced in his efforts in front of goal which have produced 27 goals and 13 assists across all competitions so far.
While that is an impressive feat on its own, it becomes even more meaningful and attracts more plaudits if we consider the fact that this is the Portuguese' first year with Juventus.
Playing in a different team, with different players in a different league and under a different atmosphere is never an easy ride for any footballer; yet, Ronaldo is undoubtedly Juventus finest player this season. With his 27 goals and 13 assists so far, he is still one of the most prolific attackers in Europe right now, hence, he deserves a lot of respect because his season has been nothing short of brilliant.
#2 He proved himself in the Champions League big games
The Champions League is the biggest stage in European football and it is where Ronaldo often shows us what he is made of. Although his UCL campaign was cut short following Juventus' shocking dismissal at the hands of Ajax in the quarterfinals, Ronaldo was still able to prove to us once again, why he is called Mr. Champions League.
The Portuguese has the finest individual performance to his name in the competition so far this season. After Juventus fell to a 2-0 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the Round of 16 stage, Ronaldo stepped up and produced an unbelievable performance in Turin by scoring a fantastic hat-trick to send his side through to the quarterfinals.
Even though the Bianconeri were sent packing from the tournament by Ajax in the quarterfinals, Cristiano still proved his class by netting in both legs of the encounter. Having dominated the headlines with these amazing individual performances, it would be unfair to suggest Ronaldo's season has been all bad.
#1 Domestic success
While the Champions League is without doubts, the priority of all European elite clubs every season, it does nothing to disvalue the success clubs enjoy at the domestic level and Cristiano Ronaldo deserves a lot of respect for what he has achieved with Juventus this term.
In his first season in Italy, the Portuguese has established himself as one of the finest attackers in the division, with 20 goals and 11 assists to his name in 28 appearances as he continues his fight for the Serie A Golden Shoe.
He also led Juventus to claim the Scudetto recently, becoming the first player to win domestic league titles across 4 top European elite divisions, following his triumphs in Portugal, England and Spain. Not to forget, the Portuguese also scored the winning goal to inspire the Bianconeri to claim the Italian Super Cup.
With 27 goals and 13 assists to his name in 40 appearances in all competitions as well as 2 trophies won in less than 12 months since he switched to Turin, it'd be really unfair to claim Ronaldo hasn't had a brilliant season.
