Barcelona star: With Ronaldo, Real Madrid would have been more competitive

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Barcelona right-back Nelson Semedo believes that his side benefitted from the departure of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer as it ultimately made Real Madrid a weaker side.

Ronaldo, Semedo’s compatriot, returned to prominence in the news this week after scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for Juventus as they knocked Atletico Madrid out of the Champions League 3-2 on aggregate.

“Real Madrid have noticed his absence a lot,” Semedo said about Ronaldo on the ‘Vamos a Jogo’ show on SIC, a Portuguese TV channel.

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“I cannot say that it was bad for us that Cristiano left.

“With him it would have been a more difficult league for us, more competitive.”

The 25-year-old believes that Barcelona would have suffered if Lionel Messi decided to leave, too.

“He [Ronaldo] is a player that requires a lot of attention and care,” Semedo added.

“Without Leo we would play well, but not the same.”

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