“This will be Paulo Dybala’s team”
Juventus defender Giorgio Chiellini has claimed Cristiano Ronaldo ‘held back’ Paulo Dybala during his time in Turin, suggesting that the team revolved around him.
Ronaldo – who finished as the top goalscorer in Serie A last season with 29 goals – made a sensational deadline-day return to Old Trafford this summer after three years in Italy.
The Portuguese captain marked his return to English football with two goals as Manchester United secured a comfortable 4-1 victory over Newcastle on Sunday.
Morning, Reds 👋
Just gonna leave this here 😊👇#MUFC | @Cristiano pic.twitter.com/6UxPdg3aya
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) September 12, 2021
On the other hand, Juventus have endured a disappointing start to their respective campaign – taking just one point from their opening three matches of the Serie A season after losing 2-1 against Napoli at the weekend.
Despite an underwhelming start to the season, Chiellini insisted that The Old Lady can cope without Ronaldo, even suggesting that the 36-year-old’s departure will actually have some positive effects on Massimiliano Allegri’s side.
Speaking to DAZN, as quoted by Football Italia, the Italian defender – who has made over 500 appearances for Juventus – said:
“When you have a world-class player like Cristiano, you cannot help but use the team to play for him.
“We must be grateful to Cristiano for all he did during these years at Juventus, but we carry on.
“This will be Paulo Dybala’s team. Over the last couple of years, he lowered his average goals because of Cristiano’s presence, but he is a key player for this team and that is recognised by everyone.”
Juventus were without Dybala for Saturday’s defeat at the hands of Napoli, with the 27-year-old attacker having been part of the Argentina squad that defeated Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier on Friday.
The Argentine has scored 101 goals in 256 games in the famous black and white shirt, but only managed 5 goals in 26 appearances last season.
As well as this, Ronaldo had been the clubs’ top scorer in each of his seasons whilst in Turin – meaning that the pressure to score goals has risen emphatically for Dybala.
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