Del Piero on Ronaldo Man Utd move: Juventus couldn't build team around superstar | OneFootball

Juventus great Alessandro del Piero has criticised his old club for not making the most of Cristiano Ronaldo during his three seasons in Turin.

Del Piero has weighed into the debate after seeing Ronaldo's two-goal return for Manchester United on Saturday. On the same weekend of Ronaldo's celebrated return in victory over Newcastle United, Juve were losing to Napoli.

Del Piero, however, insists there's no point for Juve supporters to lament what they've now lost.

Via O Jogo, he wrote for La Gazzetta dello Sport: "It is essential to avoid making comparisons with previous seasons or making excuses with the market or with those who are no longer here. Count those who are here.

"I don't think we should talk about the fact that we are not prepared, we have to deal with reality. Obviously, he didn't want to stay and paying such a high salary wouldn't have been the best. I still think that Juventus' attack can be very competitive."

Del Piero believes Juve failed to make the most of Ronaldo's presence during his three seasons in Turin. The striker struck 101 goals in 134 appearances for the Bianconeri and twice won the Scudetto. But Del Piero believes Juve could've done more with the Portuguese.

He continued: "Ronaldo is a champion and we had to sign him. But the problem was that the team couldn't grow around the superstar. We often judged Cristiano's performances almost independently of Juventus' and it's symptomatic that something didn't work.

The results in European competitions were not up to the task, but if we think that Manchester City has not yet won a Champions League, we realise that investment is not always synonymous with victories."

Ronaldo's last appearance for Juve was off the bench in their draw at Udinese last month.

- updated September 14