Cristiano Ronaldo said on Saturday he is “1,000 percent committed” to staying with Juventus next season after claiming his first Serie A title.
Massimiliano Allegri’s side needed just one point to nail down its eighth straight league championship, which helped ease some of the pain of its shock Champions League exit to Ajax at Juventus Stadium last Tuesday.
A come-from-behind 2-1 win over Fiorentina was enough to give Juve a 20-point lead on nearest rival Napoli, with five games to play.
Serbian defender Nikola Milenkovic put Fiorentina ahead after less than six minutes, but Alex Sandro’s diving header in the 37th and an own goal from Fiorentina defender German Pezzella after a Ronaldo cross in the 53rd sealed the victory. “It was a great season and I adapted well. We won the Scudetto and the Italian Super Cup, which is not easy to achieve,” said Ronaldo.
“It didn’t go well in the Champions League but next year is a new page, the fans all want it and so do we.
“I’m staying at Juve – 1,000 percent.”
It was the 34-year-old’s sixth domestic league title, having won three with Manchester United and two with Real Madrid, as he becomes the first player to win the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. Juventus purchased the five-time Ballon d’Or winner for 100 million euros ($112 million) last summer.
Ronaldo’s 19 goals and six assists has put him in the running for the top-scorer award along with Sampdoria’s Fabio Quagliarella, who has 22 goals, and AC Milan’s Krzysztof Piatek (21).
Juventus has lost only two matches, against Genoa and SPAL, with 28 wins and three draws.
Its eight straight title sees it overtake French club Lyon for the record for consecutive championships in the top five European leagues.
The day was a double celebration as Juventus’ women’s team won its second straight league title since being founded in 2017. “I’m very happy because we’ve achieved an important goal,” said Allegri, who becomes the first coach to win five consecutive Serie A titles.
He has six in total, having also won with AC Milan, one behind Giovanni Trapattoni, who has seven.
“We had an amazing season and we won 50 percent of the competitions we participated in,” Allegri said.
“Of course, we are disappointed by the elimination last week, but a title is to be celebrated.
“We won it five games from the end of the schedule, and that’s all about what the lads did on the pitch.”
Juventus also tied the record for the earliest the Italian title has been won, with five games to spare, achieved by Torino in 1948, Fiorentina in 1956 and Inter Milan in 2007.
