Former Juventus winger Douglas Costa has described playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo as being equivalent to starting a match with a one-goal lead.
Costa, who represented the Turin club from 2017 to 2022, shared his assessment of the Portugal forward while reflecting on his time at Juventus. He spoke highly of Ronaldo and emphasised the value he believed the striker brought simply by being included in the starting line-up.
“Playing with Ronaldo in the team is the same as having a one-goal advantage,” Costa said.
The comparison underlines Costa’s admiration for Ronaldo’s influence as a forward. Rather than describing him only as a talented team-mate, Costa portrayed his presence in the starting XI as an immediate benefit before a match had even begun.
Ronaldo is the player at the centre of Costa’s comments, with the former Juventus footballer placing particular value on the advantage created by having him available from the opening whistle. Costa’s words present that benefit in the clearest possible terms: a team featuring Ronaldo, in his view, effectively begins with a goal in hand.
Costa played for Juventus between 2017 and 2022, a period during which he had the opportunity to share a dressing room and the pitch with Ronaldo. His comments are therefore based on direct experience of playing alongside the Portugal international at the Turin club.
The main point of Costa’s assessment is not a match result or a specific performance, but the effect Ronaldo’s inclusion had on his team-mates’ outlook before kick-off. Costa believes the forward’s presence alone represented such a significant advantage that it could be compared with a one-goal head start.
His description also reflects the high regard in which he holds Ronaldo. Costa’s view is that the striker’s importance extended beyond what happened during the course of a match. For him, selecting Ronaldo from the start changed the starting position of the contest itself.
Costa’s spell with Juventus lasted from 2017 to 2022, and it was during his time with the Turin side that he played with the Portuguese forward. His praise focuses specifically on the experience of having Ronaldo in the same team and on the difference that presence made from the beginning of a game.
The former Juventus player’s comments amount to a strong endorsement of Ronaldo’s status as a forward. In Costa’s words, lining up with him was comparable to receiving an advantage before the match had properly started.