Who is Ronaldo's perfect partner at Juventus: Mandzukic or Dybala?
Who is Ronaldo's perfect partner at Juventus: Mandzukic or Dybala?
For Juventus fans, the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo is a truly an affair of the heart, one that supersedes all others.
Indeed, one banner at last Saturday's season-opener against Chievo in Verona read, "Sorry, my love, I'll [still] be at the altar but I couldn’t miss CR7's debut."
His Bianconeri bow had, after all, been a long time coming.
Juve had been among the Sporting starlet's first suitors but an agreed transfer to Turin in 2003 foundered on Marcelo Salas' refusal to move in the other direction.
Ronaldo has since broken the hearts of Juve fans on many occasions but, as he admitted on Wednesday, it was their public show of appreciation for his beautiful goal against the Bianconeri in last season's Champions League that had touched the Portuguese so deeply that he became enamoured with the idea of moving to Turin during the summer.
The forward has since spoken of his childhood affection for the Old Lady, only strengthening the belief among the Juve faithful that Ronaldo is – and always has been – one of their own.
The moral of this particular love story seems to be that some things are meant to be.
Certainly, Ronaldo and Paulo Dybala looked like a match made in heaven from the moment the Portuguese signed on the dotted line.
Like any good celebrity couple, they were immediately given a collective nickname, 'Dybaldo', with the Argentine's admiration for the five-time Ballon d'Or winnet evident in their first training-ground encounters.
Indeed, there was a meme doing the rounds on social media in Italy last week that featured a photo of the seemingly star-struck Dybala gazing up into Ronaldo's eyes, accompanied by the text: "Find someone that looks at you the way Dybala looks at Ronaldo."
