Tanya Lee | Ronaldo's winning move!

It's signed, sealed and delivered to newsstands everywhere this week!

Cristiano Ronaldo has made the move from Real Madrid, where he spent nine seasons, to join Juventus for some 112 million euros, making him the fourth most expensive player in football history! But the real question remains whether this was a winning move by Juventus. I actually believe it's a great move for the Italian club!

Now, the word is, it was Ronaldo himself who requested to be transferred to Juventus. There are some Madrid fans who question why CR7 would wish to leave Real Madrid in the first place. But it's essentially the end of a golden era because while Real Madrid is, in fact, the most successful club in football history, and have in fact won the last three Champions League titles, a fourth would be highly unlikely. With Ronaldo and Zidane's departure, we've possibly seen the end of that golden era.

It's been nine glorious years and Ronaldo has achieved it all with Real Madrid. Numerous Spanish La Liga and UEFA Champions League titles, numerous golden boots, numerous Ballon d'Ors and FIFA Best Awards have been won. And with constant whispers about Real Madrid's front office looking for replacements for Ronaldo (there is no such thing as a Ronaldo replacement, by the way), one gets the impression he was growing uneasy at the BernabÈu. It makes one wonder what could possibly motivate the colossal figure to boot up for one more season at a club where there is nothing else to prove. He made the move at the right time!

Right place

And he also made the move to the right place! Ronaldo is the perfect piece to the Juventus puzzle in their increasingly loud knock on the UEFA Champions League title door. They are just one player away from a Champions League title, and he's that one player. Ronaldo will fit perfectly with Paulo Dybala, Juan Cuadrado, and Mario Mandzukic to create yet another successful chapter in football history. Yes, he will be playing to tinier stadia than exist in England and Spain, but I suspect the Juventus fans will be quite welcoming, especially as he chose them. If last season is any indication, his ego will be stroked at the Allianz. When Ronaldo scored the sensational bicycle kick against Juventus in their first leg Champions League encounter, Ronaldo got a standing ovation from the Juventus faithful.

Nowhere else would have presented a good home at this time. The French League and Bundesliga aren't high profile enough. It would be blasphemy to go to another Spanish or English team, and he hasn't hit the decline phase yet to merit considering the MLS or China. And as for Manchester United, I just don't think the current team is good enough to contend for a Champions League title, and so that would be a lovely fairy tale for his fans, but a likely waste of his immense talents. The Serie A is the perfect place and the perfect pace, a bit slower than Spain, but still challenging enough for a man who relishes a challenge. Italy's football also needs a superstar reboot. Italy didn't qualify for the 2018 World Cup, and outside of Gianluigi Buffon who is off to PSG, they haven't had a player in the top football brands of the world recently.

As a random example, if you were to combine the followers of Juventus and all their players combined, you would still not get to the 135 million followers that Ronaldo brings to the table. Ronaldo is that massive shot in the marketing arm, taking not only the goals with him but singularly transporting the world's most followed sports brand to Turin.

Finally, probably the most important aspect to Ronaldo's move to Italy is that he now has the chance to stand alone, as the best of this football era, having conquered three of the globe's top football leagues. That would certainly separate him from Lionel Messi, who hasn't left the shores of Barcelona since he docked at the age of 13. Kudos to CR7 for not taking the easy route. One Love.

- Tanya Lee is a Caribbean sports marketer, author, and publicist. Follow her @tanyattlee on Instagram.