Former Barcelona right-back Dani Alves played in the Juventus side that lost in the 2017 Champions League final against Madrid before joining Paris Saint-Germain, and he feels Los Blancos now present a more varied threat.
“I think that, contrary to what everybody thinks, Madrid is more of a team without Cristiano,” he told a Spanish sports daily.
“Now it’s a bit more difficult than it was before – before it was complicated but focused a lot on Cristiano, and now it’s a bit more dangerous, at least [in terms of] how I see football and my concept of this game.”
He added: “It’s not going to be so easy to beat Madrid, they are more of a team now. It’s obvious that Cristiano is a brutal loss for Madrid, but Madrid are Madrid.”