Ronaldo a big stimulus for Juventus, says Caldara

Cristiano Ronaldo's arrival from Real Madrid has been hailed by Mattia Caldara as a stimulus for the Serie A champions.

Ronaldo signed a four-year deal with Juve to complete a deal worth €112million, ending a trophy-laden nine years in LaLiga.

The Portugal captain will now have a chance to add to the English and Spanish league titles he has already won, with Juventus hunting an eighth consecutive Scudetto.

And Caldara, who joins Juve for the 2018-19 term after spending last season on loan at Atalanta, is thrilled he will be lining up with Ronaldo.

"It will be a big stimulus to have Cristiano Ronaldo in the squad," Caldara told reporters.

"I'm curious to see how he constantly remains at the top level and to see what keeps him going.

"There's a lot of enthusiasm for Ronaldo, it's been a long time since a player like him came to Italy and I'm very excited to play alongside him."

The arrival of 24-year-old Caldara freshens up an ageing Juve back line, with experienced defenders Giorgio Chiellini and Andrea Barzagli signing new deals.

"It's an important part of my career, I’m at a big club and I have to demonstrate that I deserve to be here," said Caldara, who won his first Italy cap last month.

"I gave everything that I could whilst I was at Atalanta, and I knew that it would prepare me well for Juventus, I feel great to be here.

"My idol when I was young was Alessandro Nesta, I tried to emulate him as much as I could and I've even chosen the number 13 that he used to wear.

"In the last few years I've looked up to Giorgio Chiellini and to play with him this season is a huge honour for me, I want to learn from him as much as possible."