Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene jokes the transfer market is now more of a ‘high-end boutique’ and feels ‘sad to see Cristiano Ronaldo in a situation that is not pleasant for him or Manchester United.’
The Serie A match with Fiorentina kicked off at 14.00 UK time (13.00 GMT).
New signings Leandro Paredes and Arkadiusz Milik are in the starting XI, the debut for the Argentina international who only made the move from PSG on Wednesday.
“We have improved thanks to our work on the transfer market,” Arrivabene told DAZN.
“It was important to bridge the gap that was seen last season and I think we achieved that. With the prices that are on the transfer market now, it’s less a market, more a high-end boutique.
“We made these choices in attack for today, because on Tuesday we will be in Paris for the Champions League and are keeping our powder dry for that game. We must have great respect for PSG, but no fear.”
When it comes to the transfer market, one of the biggest stories was a move that did not go through, as Cristiano Ronaldo saw his desperate attempts to leave Manchester United and continue his Champions League career come to nothing.
There were even suggestions he could come back to Serie A for Napoli, though that never seemed particularly likely.
“We said goodbye to Cristiano with great reciprocal respect a year ago, so what happened at Manchester United is no longer our problem,” shrugged Arrivabene when asked about the situation.
“It’s sad to see him in this situation that is not pleasant for him or for his team, but again, that is no longer our business.”
Ronaldo is now regularly on the Manchester United bench, dropped by manager Erik Ten Hag.
Good riddance.
Lord Allegri’s Inter can have him.