Despite Juventus manager Maurizio Sarri not feeling Cristiano Ronaldo is at his best, the Portuguese’s 22nd goal of the Serie A season on Monday night set a new league record.
The former world footballer of the year, Ronaldo opened the scoring from the penalty spot in Juve’s 2-0 win at Bologna on Monday, which moved them four points clear of Lazio at the top of the table.
The goal represented Ronaldo’s 43rd in just 54 Serie A matches for Juventus and it makes him the highest-scoring Portuguese in the league’s history.
The previous record was held by Rui Costa, who scored 42 times in 339 games over a decade in Italy with Fiorentina and AC Milan. Ronaldo has disposed of the previous record in under two seasons.
This comes after Sarri admitted that his star striker is not at his physical peak at the moment and suggested the former Real Madrid and Manchester United man could be losing confidence.
‘I spoke to Cristiano again yesterday, alone and for a long time. He mustn’t lose his confidence,’ Sarri told reporters before the Bologna game.
‘I hope that from tomorrow the fantastic player of old will come back. It’s just that he’s not physically at his best right now.’
According to Forbes, Ronaldo is the most followed athlete on social media. His Instagram followers hit 200 million in 2020.
The Portuguese star joined Juventus in 2018 after nine years with Real Madrid. He took a pay cut with his four-year deal worth $64 million annually.
Within 24 hours of release, Juventus sold 520,000 Ronaldo jerseys worth over $60 million.
He was the club’s top scorer, with 28 goals during the 2018-19 season on the way to the club winning both the Serie A title and the Italian Super Cup.
He has won FIFA’s Player of the Year five times and is the all-time leading goal scorer in the UEFA Champions League.
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