Turin, July 17: Star Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo has said that he is not sad about leaving the Real Madrid club and expressed gratitude towards Juventus for taking him into the team.

"I'm not sad about leaving Real Madrid, this is a big club and with all due respect players at this stage of my career usually go to Qatar or China, so I'm grateful to Juventus for allowing me to join such a big club," Goal.com quoted ronaldo, as saying.

"I'm so proud to be here, I'm proud they were interested in me and I hope I can take Juventus to an even higher level," he added.

Reflecting on his rivalry with Barcelona star Lionel Messi, Ronaldo said that he does not see players as rivals and everybody play for their respective clubs.

"I don't see players as rivals. Everyone speaks about my rivalry with Messi, but everyone fights for their own club and that's what I'll do here. In the end we'll look back and see who is the best," he said. The 33-year-old left Spanish club Real Madrid to start a new journey with Italian club Juventus, in a 100 million Euros deal.

Serie A champions Juventus swooped to sign the Portugal captain, after he indicated that he was considering leaving Real Madrid after their Champions League final win in May, reported goal.com.

The striker reached global superstar status after becoming the world's most expensive player when he joined Madrid from Manchester United in 2009.

During his nine-year spell at the Real Madrid, Ronaldo won 15 trophies which includes two La Liga titles and two Copa del Rey crowns. In 292 appearances for the club he scored 311 goals. Ronaldo is likely to start training with Juventus by the end of July.

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