Bonucci admits Ronaldo brought a negative aura with him to Juventus

Cristiano Ronaldo’s career at Juventus was quite a mixed one even though the player scored roughly a 100 goal plus at the Old Ladies.

For former teammate, Leonardo Bonucci, he believes the presence of the Portuguese impacted the mentality of the players and teammate to the extent they subconsciously fell apart in their duties on pitch.

Bonucci admits that the subconsciously feeling that Ronaldo would pull the team through in every game no matter the circumstance, starved the 5 time golden ball winner of the support he needed from the team.

Though Juventus won a Serie A title amongst a few other local trophies, the team fell short in Ronaldo’s final season at the club, failing to win the Serie A as Inter Milan stole the title from under the Old Ladies’ grasp.

Aside the Serie A, Juventus had the worst stat in the Champions League with Ronaldo in the team as they never came close to challenging for the trophy in Ronaldo’s 3 years at the club.

Speaking of their time at Juventus, Bonucci said of Cristiano Ronaldo’s influence and presence in the team:

“The idea that one player, even the best in the world, could guarantee Juventus victory. Cristiano’s presence had a big influence on us. Just training with him gave us something extra but subconsciously players started to think his presence alone was enough to win games.

“We began to fall a little short in our daily work, the humility, the sacrifice, the desire to be there for your team-mate day after day. Over the last few years, I think you could see that.

“Last season, we finished fourth and won the Coppa Italia because we became a team again. If you had thrown a piece of wood in the dressing room before those games it would have caught fire such was the electricity running through it. We missed that.

“Maybe it was taken for granted that if we gave the ball to Cristiano he’d win us the game. But Cristiano needed the team as much as we needed him. There had to be a trade-off because it’s the team that lifts the individual even if the individual is the best player on the planet.”