Cristiano Ronaldo: Juventus’ new signing is a coup on and off the pitch

The Old Lady has got her man and, for the first time ever, the support and respect of her domestic rivals.

The arrival of a reigning Ballon d’Or winner to Serie A is coup not only for Juventus but for calcio as a whole, helping to somewhat re-establish the reputation of a fallen league.

But why Italy?

Ronaldo’s is a career that was always supposed to start in Italy but it will now likely end in the peninsula.

In 2003 the disgraced (now former) sporting director of Juventus, Luciano Moggi, had seemingly struck a deal with Sporting Lisbon for the purchase of their talented youngster.

As part of the deal, Juve’s Marcelo Salas was to head the other way but, after visiting Lisbon, the Chilean refused the transfer, forcing Juventus to give up on the rising Portuguese star. Ronaldo went on to join Manchester United, external and the rest, as they say, is history.

Yet Juventus has remained a special club for Ronaldo and he admitted as such earlier this year, saying: “I’ve always liked Juventus, since I was a child, and I loved to watch them play.”