A former managing director at Juventus has questioned the logic behind investing so much in the Portuguese forward and parting with Gonzalo Higuain
Cristiano Ronaldo’s €100 million (£90m/$117m) move to Juventus has been questioned by the club’s former managing director, with Luciano Moggi claiming he would “never have spent such a high fee on a 33-year-old”.
The Portuguese superstar was taken to Turin over the summer after nine record-breaking years at Spanish giants Real Madrid.
His capture was considered to be quite a coup for the Bianconeri, even when taking his advancing years into account.
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Moggi concedes that Ronaldo’s commercial appeal makes him an obvious asset for Juve, but he is not convinced about the sporting logic of bringing in the five-time Ballond d’Or winner and parting with Gonzalo Higuain.
He told Corriere dello Sport: “In terms of marketing, it’s a sensational deal.
“But I would never have spent such a high fee on a 33-year-old – and I would certainly not have announced it before selling Higuain, someone who scores 20 goals a season.
“First I would have sold Higuain for €50m (£45m) and only then would I have announced Ronaldo.”
Moggi is adamant that he played no part in the transfer which took Ronaldo to Italy, with his efforts to land a modern day icon having ended after missing out on his services in 2003.
He added on a deal done 15 years later: “That’s Fiat stuff.
“I actually signed Cristiano Ronaldo. He was 18 and he played for Sporting Lisbon.
“I saw him and the next morning I signed the contract for 5 billion lire (£2.3m) plus our [Marcelo] Salas, who would have received a 1b lire (£470,000) loyalty bonus.
“But then Salas preferred River Plate and Manchester United came in for Ronaldo.
“At the time, Juve were in a real crisis. We didn’t have a penny.”
Juventus are still waiting on Ronaldo to record his first competitive goal for the club, with his third Serie A outing of the season set to come away at Parma on Saturday.