A Juventus star has suggested that it would have been better for the club if they had sold Cristiano Ronaldo at an earlier stage.
Ronaldo started the season with the Bianconeri before rejoining Manchester United on deadline day for a reported €15 million (R255 million) transfer fee.
Scroll through the gallery above to see the trophies Ronaldo won at Juventus
Following the sudden move, the Serie A side struggled to find their rhythm in the first four league games of the campaign as they went winless.
Slowly, however, the Old Lady picked up form again and are now undefeated in their past nine matches as they attempt to catch up with the teams ahead of them.
In a recent interview with DAZN, Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini opened up about why his side struggled after Ronaldo's exit from Turin.
"He left on August 28th, it would have been better for us if he had left earlier," the 37-year-old said, per the Daily Mail.
"It's something we paid for, there's a little shock in it for you, and in my opinion we paid for it in terms of points.
"Had he gone away on August 1st, we would have had time to prepare better.
"We had reached a point in the relationship where Cristiano needed new incentives and a new team that could play for him, because when he finds such a team he is decisive.
"He has been proving it in recent months and showed it in the three years that he was with us.
"A rejuvenation restart programme grew here at Juventus. If Ronaldo had stayed, it would have been an added value and we would have gladly exploited it, but he might be thinking more about the present than the future."
Read: Ronaldo reclaims UCL record from Messi
Meanwhile, Chiellini's centre-back partner Leonardo Bonucci was also asked about the impact the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's departure had on the club, and, more specifically, if Juventus are playing more as a team without him in it.
"It's absolutely true [that Juve are playing more as a team]," the Italian defender told Sky Sport Italia.
"In the recent past, we had lost this characteristic from Juve, we were playing with a great champion like Ronaldo and we wanted to put him in a position to always do well, thinking he could solve all the matches.
"This year we are rediscovering that right humility that it serves to regain victory."
Here are the only four teams who have more victories than Ronaldo does in the UEFA Champions League since 1992
