“He puts on the armor of Superman to defend himself” - Gianluigi Buffon says Cristiano Ronaldo hides nastiness off the pitch with ‘split personality’

Legendary goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon has shared his opinion about Cristiano Ronaldo. The former shot-stopper praised the Portuguese icon and highlighted his 'split personality' on and off the pitch.

During an interview with TuttoJuve, Buffon labeled Ronaldo as a 'sensitive lad' who takes on a different personality as a person and as a professional. He said (via Juve FC):

“Cristiano is a great person. For those who have known him, who you become familiar with and off camera, he is a sensitive lad. You understand the difficult path he went through as a kid. Then, he puts on the armour of a superman to defend himself from everything he has had and to ensure that others are attracted to his figure."

“There is a split personality: there is CR7 and there is Cristiano. I really liked the quality of the man. As a player, the cynicism and the nastiness that he had and still has, are things that I haven’t seen in anyone else," Buffon added.

Buffon shared the dressing room with Cristiano Ronaldo and also played against him. The duo played for two seasons at Juventus between 2019 and 2021, featuring together for the side 21 times.

On the other hand, they played against each other seven times at club level when the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was at Real Madrid. Ronaldo scored 10 goals against Buffon, including the iconic overhead goal during their 3-0 win in the 2017-18 Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Allianz Stadium.

When Gianluigi Buffon named Cristiano Ronaldo as the player who caused him the most pain

Former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon once named Cristiano Ronaldo as the player who caused him the most pain in his career. In an interview with The BSMT in February 2024, Buffon said (via Tribuna.com):

"In our time, Cristiano Ronaldo. He always scored against me. It's unbelievable. I saw him make good moves during matches that I had never seen before. You could see he had that kind of energy, as a result of his determination."

"The 'nastiness' with which I saw him make certain gestures during a match, I have not seen it in any other player. You clearly saw this ‘mean’ energy, which was however the fruit of this desire to win at all costs,' he added.

In addition to conceding 10 goals to the Al-Nassr star, Buffon lost the 2016-17 Champions League final to Cristiano Ronaldo-led Real Madrid. The Portuguese legend scored a brace in the 4-1 win over Juventus.