They say that the seeds for Cristiano Ronaldo’s move to Juventus were planted three months before the transfer was made official. With Real Madrid leading 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League matchup at Juventus Stadium, Ronaldo received a cross from Dani Carvajal in the 64th minute and buried a bicycle into Gigi Buffon’s left corner. As extraordinary as the goal was - and it may be the best of his 573 career goals - so was the reaction among the Juve supporters. Recognizing both the skill and the audacity of imagination, the Juventus crowd gave Ronaldo a standing ovation in spite of simultaneously losing their European dream. The BBC labeled the match as the “Night Juventus Stadium Rose to Applaud” Ronaldo. The relationship between a great player and his adoring audience was established.

Then again, the goal and the ovation may have been nothing more than a sporting moment as we put the pieces together in hindsight. There were rumors of Ronaldo moving away from Madrid shortly after they won their third consecutive Champions League. It lost momentum as focus shifted towards a Portugal-Spain match in the opening round of the World Cup group stages. Yet the buzz gained steam after Portugal were knocked out in the round of 16, and the Juventus transfer was officially announced on the day of France’s 1-0 win over Belgium in the World Cup semifinals. 

Ronaldo revealed his own take on the announcement days after the World Cup final through a tweet, which was relatively standard by both player and club standards. The juxtaposition between the two events pit the highest stage of international football against the financial might powering global superpower clubs in an era where club football has largely usurped the quality of the international stage.

But regardless of timing, the facts and reverberations remain: after nine seasons at Real Madrid, Ronaldo moved to Juventus for a reported fee of $117 million. The nine figure fee is both extravagant and a bargain for different, yet important reasons. Taken without context, no 33-year-old player, even if they are a once in a generation goal scorer, is worth anything close to that amount.

Yet there are the intangibles and perceptions of a Juventus’ brand at play, one which we’ve previously covered. For a side that has been defined by their savviness on the free transfer market (they signed Emre Can a day earlier on a free transfer), Ronaldo is their biggest name signing since Zinedine Zidane, and their most global superstar ever. Juventus recorded more than $50 million in jersey sales from Ronaldo’s first day with the club. Even if Ronaldo scores zero goals for his Juventus career, the signing was a success from the global attention standpoint. 

But Juventus’ on-field obsession brings us back to the Champions League, the one trophy that’s eluded the club since their dominant return to Serie A. It also happens to be the competition that’s defined Ronaldo, with Real Madrid’s three consecutive titles bringing the striker back into the discussion of passing Lionel Messi as the greatest player of his era. Regardless of his slow starts domestically, Ronaldo could be counted on for European goals (he also scored two goals against his new club in the 2017 finals). And as he showed with his performance at Juventus this season, there is something in his ability to rise to the occasion and transcend the moment in Europe that reverberates beyond just the match.

Going back to the field, his role is a clear-cut swap with Gonzalo Higuain. In the exchange, Max Allegri replaced one of the best goal scorers of his era with the greatest finisher of his era. Above all, Allegri simply says that Ronaldo “will score goals”. But discussions of tactics and formations are an afterthought for now. For Juventus, next season is Europe or nothing, just like it was for last season and the season before that. With agent Jorge Mendes saying that Ronaldo will end his career in Italy after his four-year contract expires, he will have as many tries to accomplish what was previously unattainable, and bring Juventus Stadium on their feet again, this time for the home side.

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There had been rumors of Ronaldo’s unhappiness at Real Madrid for years, usually springing up during the doldrums of a long, domestic season. And there was always a sense that he and president Florentino Perez would figure out their differences as they always had, and that those swings of ego, mood and temperature were just part of the superstar experience. But of course, something was different this time around. 

Perhaps Ronaldo saw a Real Madrid in transition. Zidane’s calmness and stability at manager was replaced by the unknown in Julen Lopetegui. There are a new generation of attackers ready for larger roles in the likes of Marcos Llorente, Lucas Vazquez, Marco Asensio and Dani Ceballos. Isco is in his prime. And Gareth Bale, at age 29, is ready to finally be unleashed as their main creator on the wing for an entire season if his body holds up. There was a sense that Ronaldo’s lack of pace and movement due to his age limited a new Real Madrid side built on pace and counter attacking. 

Still, Ronaldo leaves behind 15 trophies, four Champions League titles, and a club record 450 goals in 438 appearances. He also leaves behind his La Liga rivalry with Messi. The move to Juventus, should it be a success, presents even more nuance to the debate between the two players. Is it more impressive that Ronaldo dominate three different leagues with three different sides, or that Messi do the same with one team his entire career?

And Real Madrid and Perez’s influence is so vast that the their fingerprints are on matches that don’t even involve the club. Three days before the opening match against Portugal, Real Madrid announced the hire of Lopetegui to replace Zidane. Lopetegui was fired as Spain manager the following day. On the morning of the match, Ronaldo was handed a delayed prison sentence along with a massive fine for tax fraud. He responded with a hat trick (former teammate Nacho also had one of the goals of the tournament with this volley). Of course, there were parting shots. Carvajal said that Messi “generates more football” than Ronaldo and named Raul as the club’s greatest player. Truly, there is no footballing theatre like La Liga. Or that least there was no theater like La Liga, aided largely by Ronaldo in his prime. 

Our La Liga preview last season centered around the changing generation of players who defined the league over the last decade, starting with Andres Iniesta. Then Fernando Torres moved to Japan alongside the Barcelona midfielder. And even though it’s been previously stressed, more than any previous year, this season feels like the start of a new La Liga era with the players who once defined the league playing elsewhere. Whether this new group of players succeed or fail to match those once in a lifetime talents both in quality on the field and intrigue off it, the upcoming seasons are essential for Real Madrid to find talents that will define the next generation as Ronaldo did this past decade.