Ronaldo not enough as Juventus fall short in Europe

Massimiliano Allegri oversaw his final game as Juventus coach on Sunday, after guiding the team to an eighth consecutive Serie A title but paid the price for yet another Champions League failure despite the sensational signing of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Ronaldo was left out alongside a host of other starters as the Allegri era ended with the whimper of a 0-2 defeat at Sampdoria, having played 31 of 38 matches and closing the season as the team's top scorer with 21 league goals.

But helping the team to another Serie A title was not why the 34-year-old was signed last summer.

Ronaldo had spent nine glittering seasons at Real Madrid, lifting four Champions League trophies in five seasons before moving to Italy.

His arrival in Turin on a 100-million-euro ($115 million) deal, plus a reported 30 million euros a year, was hailed as "the deal of the century" by the Italian press.

But after a season in which they were expected to sweep all before them, Juventus have won less than the previous season, with their four-year reign as Coppa Italia holders ending in a 0-3 quarterfinal defeat to Atalanta.

Ronaldo single-handedly lifted Juventus into the Champions League quarterfinals with a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid.

But his hopes of a fourth straight European triumph were ended when they crashed out to daring Dutch Ajax in the last eight.

Amid criticism of Allegri's tactics, Ronaldo, who has scored 124 goals in 160 Champions League appearances, reportedly said: "I don't work miracles".

"Cristiano showed us he could always score in the games that counted. But then you have to have a strong team behind him," said veteran defender Andrea Barzagli.

Despite the financial fallout of failing to advance in the Champions League, Ronaldo's signing has been a money-spinning one for Juventus.

The five-time Ballon d'Or winner is the most followed sports star on social media with a global reach of over 340 million followers.

More fans ultimately mean more money, and suddenly Ronaldo's transfer fee does not look so extortionate.

The club's value on the Milan stock exchange has rocketed by 133 percent since his arrival last July.

Milan sneak into CL

Meanwhile, Inter Milan missed a penalty, conceded an equaliser, grabbed a late winner and survived a siege on their goal before beating Empoli 2-1 on Sunday to qualify for next season's Champions League while sending their luckless opponents into Serie B.

Radja Nainggolan scored the decisive goal in the 81st minute as Inter pipped their neighbours AC Milan for the fourth and final Serie A place in next season's Champions League.

Inter finished with 69 points, behind Atalanta on head-to-head record and one point in front of fifth-placed AC Milan, whose 3-2 win at SPAL was in vain.