Cristiano Ronaldo's departure from Juventus left a sour taste for many in Turin.
The Portuguese star departed the Italian side and returned to Manchester United after spending three years with the Bianconeri.
During that period he helped them win a further two Serie A titles but their most coveted prize, the Champions League, for which he was ultimately signed to lift, eluded them.
Juventus ' Italian domestic dominance also came to an end in Ronaldo's final year, during which the 37-year-old copped plenty of criticism.
His astronomical wages had hampered Juventus' ability to invest elsewhere and, with Max Allegri back at the helm, they are now in the midst of transition.
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Ronaldo won every prize there was to win in Italy and scored 101 times across his three years.
However, like in Manchester and at Real Madrid, there has been the perception that the forward's pursuit of individual prizes and awards has sometimes been detrimental.
A team game
That is something Allegri seems to have hinted at this season. The Italian worked with Ronaldo for one year before departing in 2019.
Now, back in the role, his Juventus side have no obvious star player.
Paulo Dybala is the club's leading scorer whilst they recently added Dusan Vlahovic and Denis Zakaria in the January window.
Juventus are aiming to chase down both Milan clubs and Napoli in the final months of the season, but their coach is confident that the squad is more focused on the collective than they have been previously, which looks to have been a dig at Ronaldo.
Allegri told reporters previously: “I think that personal targets have been put aside and there is more focus on the team.
“We have been together for six or seven months now. We are knowing each other a little more, we feel more like a team.”
Goal issues
Any club that concedes more than 30 goals a year is going to feel that absence, however - and Juventus are no different.
Dybala has notched 12 times this term with no other player yet hitting double figures.
That was no doubt a motivating factor in Juventus' decision to pursue Vlahovic, whom Arsenal were heavily linked with for much of January.
Matthijs de Ligt, who moved to Italy in the same summer as Ronaldo, has hailed the new arrival after admitting they missed a prolific marksman after the Portuguese's swift departure.
He said: “We lost Cristiano Ronaldo late in the summer and of course, we lost 30 goals with that. Because it was so late, we couldn’t get someone like Dusan Vlahovic back right away. We certainly missed that in the beginning.
“When I played against him [Vlahovic], I already noticed how strong and technically good he was.
"And what particularly appealed to me is that he is so driven to score a goal.
"He almost scolded teammates when he didn’t get the ball. You need an attacker like that up front.”
Lack of respect
The manner of Ronaldo's exit, which came after just one Serie A game, angered many previous players.
Influence is not something the five-time Ballon d'Or winner has lacked over the past decade and his desire to leave became clear.
"He wants to leave Juventus and he made a choice, he's going to look for a new club after three years here,” said Allegri.
“I’m not disappointed by Cristiano Ronaldo. It's part of the life. Ronaldo told me yesterday that he wants to leave Juventus immediately.”
Links to Manchester City saw their neighbours United act quickly to seal the deal.
It meant there was no emotional farewell in Italy and that didn't sit well with some former players.
“Juventus deserve more respect; I didn’t expect Ronaldo to snub the club like this. It was not nice of him,” Sergio Brio told Tuttosport.
“I always speak highly of the three clubs where I played: Juventus, Lecce and Pistoiese because they signed me and believed in me. Cristiano is a great professional, but his farewell should have been different."
