“Ronaldo joining Juventus is like LeBron James joining Lakers”

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Alessandro Del Piero has compared Juventus’ signing of Cristiano Ronaldo to LeBron James joining Los Angeles Lakers.

Ronaldo’s arrival over the summer was seen as a statement of intent from Juve that they were targeting the Champions League, while the Lakers signed arguably the world’s best basketball player in James after eight years of no NBA conference titles.

“Bad results can affect you, that’s for sure, but the recent Finals played at the end of two extraordinary seasons were lost against stronger teams,” Del Piero, 25 years to the day he made his Bianconeri debut, told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“It’s not because of a curse. It’s happened to teams who are at least as strong as Juve. It’s dangerous because the expectations are so big and they risk crushing you.

“However, it’s likely [they’ll win it] because the Champions League is their big objective. I’ll also say it’s fascinating: this desire to throw their hearts over the obstacle.

“That’s been shown by the club with such an ambitious project. I like it a lot. It’s like the Lakers with LeBron James…

“Ronaldo’s an extraordinary champion and he has the mentality that only sporting greats have.

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“He’ll know how to spread it throughout the team. My first reaction when I heard that Juve were going to sign Ronaldo? I simply didn’t believe it, I thought it was a hoax.

“I’d certainly beat him in a free-kick challenge, although if I don’t then I have the excuse that I’ve stopped playing for a while…

“Having interviewed him for Sky, what struck me most was what he said on air: his comments about winning mentality, his obsession with preparation and training, his ability to always set new objectives and create extraordinary motivations for himself.

“In those words, in which I sincerely found myself, there was the essence of sport. It explained why champions have something more.

“He’ll discover what Juve are about by himself, in everyday life. Not just in Turin. Juventus are everywhere because they have fans everywhere.

“He’ll soon discover what a great responsibility and honour it is to play for their shirt.”

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