Bonucci Reveals Ronaldo's Bad Influence At Juventus

Leonardo Bonucci (Twitter @ bonucci_leo19)

JAKARTA - Cristiano Ronaldo has achieved a lot at Juventus. He won the Serie A title twice, the Coppa Italia, and the Supercoppa Italiana as well. In 134 games for the club, he scored 101 times.

However, the Portugal captain left Turin last summer. He forced the club to release in the last days of the transfer market.

Now, defender Leonardo Bonucci explains some of the negative impacts of Ronaldo's existence during his time at Juventus.

"This is the thing, the idea that one player, even the best in the world, can guarantee Juventus victory," Bonucci told The Athletic.

"Ronaldo's presence had a huge influence on us. Just training with him gave us something extra, but subconsciously the players started to think that his presence alone was enough to win the game.

"We had failures in our daily tasks, sacrifices, the desire to be there for your teammates day in and day out. Over the last few years, I think you can see that."

Although Ronaldo has undoubtedly played his part at Juventus, Bonucci believes he needs his teammates as much as they need him to be successful.

"Last season, we finished fourth and won the Coppa Italia because we became a team again," Bonucci explained.

"If you throw a piece of wood into the locker room before that game, it will burn like electricity running through it.

"We missed that. It might be taken for granted that if we give the ball to Ronaldo then he will win the game for us.

"But Ronaldo needs the team as much as we need him. There has to be a trade-off because it is the team that lifts the individual even if that individual is the best player on the planet."