Alessandro Del Piero Discusses Cristiano Ronaldo, Gianluigi Buffon, More

Juventus legend Alessandro Del Piero believes the club have invested in an excellent "Champions League system" by bringing in Cristiano Ronaldo. The 44-year-old also hailed Wojciech Szczesny as the perfect replacement for Gianluigi Buffon.

Del Piero spoke to AS (h/t Football Italia) ahead of Juventus' Champions League round-of-16 first leg against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday and discussed Ronaldo's switch to the Bianconeri:

"A player like Ronaldo should never be sold, but there are cycles, motivations, new challenges.

"Cristiano has chosen an exciting one: winning the Champions League with Juventus. It's difficult to judge Real's decision.

"There are times when clubs have to make difficult but necessary decisions, and the desire of a player like Cristiano weighs more than any consideration.

"[…] I expect a compact and organised Juve. It'll be a very tactical tie, especially the first leg. (Massimiliano) Allegri will want his team to be focused.

"After that, they have a system that almost always delivers excellent results in the Champions League. It's called CR7."

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He also weighed in on Buffon's transfer to Paris Saint-Germain and his replacement:

“If we're talking about players at their level, the task becomes even harder. Buffon? Gigi will always be in the club's history and also mine.

“We shared some unforgettable moments, but I like Juve's choice of replacement. Szczesny is perfect and it was a great idea to have him signed a year before Buffon left.”

The former Italy international announced he would be attending the match in Madrid.

Sportswriter Giovanni Albanese shared footage of him and former team-mate Pavel Nedved, as well as others, at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium:

Juventus have come agonisingly close to winning their first Champions League title since 1996 on several occasions in the last few years. They lost in the final in 2015 and 2017, and they bowed out to eventual champions Real Madrid last year due to a controversial late penalty.

The Italians responded by signing Ronaldo in the summer, breaking the bank for one of the most successful players in the competition's history:

The 34-year-old could become just the second player in Champions League history to win the competition with three different clubs. Clarence Seedorf did it with Ajax, Real and AC Milan, while Ronaldo has done so with Manchester United and Real.

Juventus are among the favourites to win the tournament this year, despite the absence of longtime star goalkeeper Buffon. After spending well over 15 years in Turin, the 41-year-old signed for Ligue 1 giants PSG in the summer.

Szczesny joined the Bianconeri in 2017, ensuring there wouldn't be a painful transition in the summer of 2018. The Poland international has barely set a foot wrong in Turin so far, although he did cost the team with a poor showing against Manchester United in the Champions League's group stages.