Ronaldo left Madrid for Europe's strongest team in Juventus - Dybala

Paulo Dybala believes Juventus team-mate Cristiano Ronaldo joined the best team in Europe when he left Real Madrid.

Ronaldo and Madrid won the Champions League in each of the last three seasons, but the Portugal forward completed a €112million switch to Turin in the off-season.

Dybala claims the Bianconeri's 3-1 quarter-final second-leg win at the Santiago Bernabeu last term, which saw the Serie A giants eliminated from Champions League, convinced Ronaldo he would be joining a stronger side.

The Argentina international also suggested Juve would have won the European title had it not been for the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's decisive stoppage-time penalty in that aggregate defeat.

"I don't think there was a stronger squad than Juventus last season," Dybala told La Gazzetta dello Sport. "Real Madrid won [the Champions League], but they did not prove themselves to be stronger than us.

"If we had got through that round [against Madrid], everything would have changed.

"In my view, we would have won the Champions League and everyone would have said we were the best team. There was no team stronger than ours.

See more

"The victory at the Bernabeu gave us even more strength and belief. The team went to win in Madrid with incredible grit and determination. My team-mates told me the Madrid players were really struggling and confused because they rarely conceded three goals like that.

"I think it was that game that pushed Ronaldo towards Juve. That's when he realised our strength and made his choice. He is very intelligent and sees these things before others."

Juve have won their opening two Champions League group games this season without conceding, despite Ronaldo's red card in their opener against Valencia.

Thank you for reading 5 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access

Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1

*Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription

Join now for unlimited access

Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1