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Cristiano Ronaldo's transfer from Real Madrid to Juventus has revolutionized the world of football, from fans to experts and players who once donned the colors of the legendary Spanish club.
Steve McManaman, former English midfielder, winner of two trophies and two La Liga titles with Real Madrid, is one of those ex-players who were surprised by the decision of the Portuguese to leave after nine seasons and 15 trophies to embark on a new adventure in Turin
of Real Madrid, how the move affects the "Blancos" compared to Barcelona, the chances of Juventus to win the Champions League, its choices for the next season of Premier League and more.
You have already said that you were "stunned" at the possibility of Ronaldo from Madrid, and now that it has really happened, what are you doing about the move?
"J & Was surprised like everyone else. "Every year, Cristiano seems to be moving out and signing a new contract with Madrid.It happened, I was very surprised that Juventus had the finances to make the case, that it permutated to be the king, winning four times the Champions League and living in Madrid to leave and start over in Turin.In the end, I hope that & # 39; 39; he will play well and I hope he will be very successful, but Real Madrid will have a huge backlog to fill. "
How Real Madrid fills the Ronaldo?
"They brought some players who will not affect their starting lineup. They brought a young Brazilian to Vinicius but he is only a young talent, they brought Odriozola who, again , is a good player but he will not replace Cristiano, they will have to replace Cristiano by ody, whether it's a big name or a couple of players who can score goals.I think Real Madrid is weaker than last year and that Barcelona is probably stronger than last year.They will have to do business in this transfer window because as soon as they lose a match or two games, the fans will become crazy. "
Among the big name players, who would you like to come to Madrid?
"The links are there for (Eden) Hazard, but I do not think they can get it from Chelsea.We are talking about (Edinson) Cavani. (Robert) Lewandowski is 29, is Is it too late for him in his best form? In the best case, they would like a (Kylian) Mbappe or a Neymar, but that's where they can detach any of them. among them PSG I do not think they can do it. "
Do you think Neymar would be a good choice?
"I think he'd be better now because he's a brilliant footballer.If you looked into the future, you'd try to choose Mbappe, he's a different character and he is much younger, but I think that Florentino (Perez) has the heart to take Neymar. "
How does it work? Ronaldo's exit affects La Liga as a competition?
"Real Madrid has always had those great players who have left in the end.The departure of Cristiano eliminates something from this Ronaldo-Lionel Messi debate because they played against each other every week, but I do not think that a player makes a difference in a league.Great players come and go every year.There are superstars abound in La Liga.I do not think that the departure of Cristiano will have a lot of The effect on the spectators of La Liga. "
Is Ronaldo the missing piece for Juventus to win the elusive title of the Champions League?
hopefully, but the big question is whether Juventus must sell now to finance the Ronaldo deal. I read that Bonucci wants to return to Juventus, but it will cost a lot of money. Will they sell Higuain? Will they sell Rugani? You wonder if they are going to have to weaken their team significantly by selling a few players to fund Cristiano and Bonucci. You hope that if Juventus can keep the same team, Cristiano could be that missing piece. "
You recently left Manchester United and Chelsea out of your top four in the upcoming Premier League season.]
" I never select Manchester United because I do not like them at all it is not unusual (laughs). I did not choose Chelsea because they were in turmoil all summer. It was rumored that they were going to take Maurizio Sarri there two months ago, but when the pre-season arrives, Antonio Conte takes the workout while everyone knows he's going to leave. A few days after the training, he leaves and they bring Sarri. Now, they are against the clock to bring in new players when (Thibaut) Courtois wants to leave, Hazard wants to leave. There are a lot of troubles right now in Chelsea. "
Liverpool is one of the most expensive clubs in England and Europe this summer." I'm expecting them to be much better. that they were not there last year. I'm expecting them to be stronger in the Premier League, to be much closer to Manchester City. They finished fourth last year, their form dropped towards the end of the season because they were rest players for the Champions League and would probably have had to finish third. The Premier League was over in November, Manchester City was much better than everyone so it became a no-contest. We all hope that this year will be much closer. I hope that Liverpool will be able to threaten Manchester City much more. "
About a month ago, England had its best performance for a long time in Russia in 2018. What did you do with its campaign for the World Cup?
"I thought that they were coming out well. They go into the semi-finals, beating Colombia on penalties, allowing them to get rid of the hoodoo for not winning a World Cup match (in the knockout phase) for the first time in many years. years. They are young players, they will gain more experience and become better players. I think this bodes well for the future. I do not think they were the best team in the tournament. I think the best team in France won the tournament, but I think that England is very well behaved. "
Now that the bar is very high, what do you expect from England?
" You know what English football looks like. Next time we will think that they will start all over again (laughs). I think we have to be very realistic. I think they did well, but all the other nations are going to improve. You need a little luck, you need your players to play well, but England is going in the right direction and I think that is the most important thing. "