Cristiano Ronaldo may have scored over 40 goals in his last eight seasons, but one of his former teammates believes he'll find that feat much more difficult in Italy.
Napoli defender Raul Albiol has told AS that 'in Italy it will be harder to score 40 goals.'
Ronaldo and Albiol played together at Real Madrid for several years, but they will come up against each other when Napoli plays Ronaldo's new club Juventus later this month.
'It is true that in Calcio soccer is more tactical and defensive and also very physical, but you have to know how to play,' said Albiol. 'Cristiano is a great player, with tremendous potential. But in Italy it will be harder to score 40 goals.'
So far, Ronaldo is yet to score for Juventus over the first three games of the season, even though the team has been scoring plenty. They've scored a total of seven goals against Chievo, Lazio, and Parma, with Ronaldo only getting one assist to his name.
However, it's probably not time to panic yet. As Albiol points out later in the interview, Ronaldo has started the season slowly before, most recently last year.
'He did not score at the beginning and at the end of the season he finished again with some overwhelming numbers,' said Albiol.
Ronaldo scored 44 goals for Real Madrid last season across all competitions, and he added another four to his tally for Portugal at the World Cup.
Despite Albiol's bold claim that Ronaldo may struggle to reach his usual heights this year, the defender doesn't seem entirely confident in it, adding: 'If Cristiano has spent his entire career scoring bags of goals every season is not by chance.'
Over the course of his career, Ronaldo has surpassed 40 goals per season nine times. On six occasions he went past the 50 goals mark, and in 2011/12 and 2014/15 he even managed 60.
Raul Albiol's comments may just be wishful thinking on his part ahead of their clash against the current league leaders on September 29.
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