Juventus captain Giorgio Chiellini has criticized Cristiano Ronaldo for not leaving the club before the start of the season, claiming that his late departure to Manchester United has affected the team. Despite having another year with Juventus as part of his contract, Ronaldo's old club Manchester United re-signed him in August for an initial fee of 15 million euros that could rise up to 23 million euros.

Chiellini stated, "Cristiano Ronaldo left on Aug. 28. This creates a shock and I think we paid him in terms of points in the start of the season. It would have been better had he [Ronaldo] left on Aug. 1 as we would have prepared ourselves and we would have arrived ready for the start of the campaign. Cristiano needed new stimulus and a team that played for him. When he finds a team like that, he is always crucial and has always proved that even in his three years at Juve."

The defender added, "A rejuvenation and restart program is underway here at Juventus. It is clear that if Ronaldo had stayed it would have been an added value and we would have gladly exploited it, but it could also have been the case that he decided to restart from a team more focused on the present rather than on the future." During his three seasons with the Italian club, Ronaldo scored 101 goals in 133 appearances, besides winning five trophies for the team, including two Serie A titles.

Speaking about his departure from Juventus, Ronaldo had earlier shared a heartfelt note which read, "Today I depart from an amazing club, the biggest in Italy and surely one of the biggest in all of Europe. I gave my heart and soul for Juventus and I’ll always love the city of Turin until my final days. I will always be one of you. You are now part of my history, as I feel that I'm part of yours. Italy, Juve, Turin, tiffosi bianconeri, you’ll always be in my heart."