Perin wasn't expecting to play alongside Ronaldo at Juventus

When he agreed a deal to join Juventus in June, Mattia Perin was not anticipating he would play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo.

Published : Jul 11, 2018 20:09 IST

Mattia Perin was not expecting to play alongside Cristiano Ronaldo when he joined Juventus, but he is excited to do so.

Juve paid Genoa an initial €12million to sign the goalkeeper after Gianluigi Buffon confirmed his 17-year stay at Turin would end after the 2017-18 season.

On Tuesday the Bianconeri announced they had shelled out €100m more than the fee for Perin to snare five-time Ballon d'Or winner Ronaldo from Real Madrid.

Perin was not surprised by the bold move from the seven-time defending Serie A champion and is looking forward to getting down to work with the Portugal captain.

"I was not expecting it, but from a club like this you can expect anything," said Perin at his official presentation on Wednesday.

"The news struck me because he is the best player in the world. Being able to train with him, a great professional, like everyone here, is a plus for all of us and for Italian football.

"I thought the arrival of Ronaldo was possible. Juventus are on a par with Real, Barcelona and Bayern Munich.

"If Cristiano had to leave, I thought the most probable destination would be Juventus, and that's how it went."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment