Juventus made a mistake by signing Ronaldo – Cassano

Ex Italy international Antonio Cassano has said signing Cristiano Ronaldo has proven to be a mistake by Juventus.

The Portuguese superstar arrived in Turin in 2018 with the aim being to propel Juventus to Champions League glory.

That aim remains unfulfilled, and Cassano feels Juve erred in signing the five-time Ballon d’Or winner from Real Madrid.

“Juventus signed him to win the Champions League, but they’ve done worse with him than they’ve done before,” Cassano said to Corriere dello Sport.

“They would have won the Scudetto [Serie A title] without him. It was the wrong project.

“He’ll keep scoring goals because he knows how to do that no matter what. He’ll cut in from the left, get the ball on his right foot and fire it in. His headers are unique.

“But [head coach Andrea] Pirlo wants to build the play, pressure the opposition and play between the lines, and this means Cristiano doesn’t participate much.

“I think he will have done badly unless they manage to win the Champions League.”

The 36-year-old has won back-to-back Serie A titles with Juventus, along with two Supercoppas, and he was named Serie A player of the year in 2019.

However, in his two completed Champions League seasons with the club, they have been knocked out in the quarter-finals and the round of 16.

In the current campaign, Juventus trail Porto 2-1 following the first leg of their last-16 tie, with the second leg to take place on March 9.