Cristiano · Ronaldo seem to have joked that former Juventus team-mates Wojciech · Szczesny would have to retire to join a "big club" like Barcelona.
Szczesny opted to retire this summer when Juventus were clearly preparing for a future without him, but ended his off-season just a few months later to join Barcelona as an emergency replacement for Marc-André · Ter Stegen.
Ronaldo travelled to Portugal in Szczesny's hometown of Poland on Saturday, with former Juventus team-mates meeting behind the scenes and posing for photos. In footage filmed by the Poland Football Association, Ronaldo appears to be scornful of Juventus when congratulating Szczesny on his move to Barcelona. "You need to retire to go to a big club," Ronaldo told Szczesny.
When Ronaldo left Manchester United in 2021, he described Juventus as an "amazing club", but his memories in Turin were divided. He scored 101 goals in 134 games and won two Serie A titles in three years, but many have questioned whether Ronaldo has improved the team as a whole.
Earlier this year, Ronaldo found himself in legal action against Juventus for unpaid wages due to an extension during the COVID-19 pandemic, with the court ultimately ruling that he was owed a total of €10m.