Cristiano Ronaldo’s close-season switch from Real Madrid to Juventus has lead to an improvement by the European champions, says Dani Alves.

The five-time Ballon d’Or winner – Madrid’s all-time record goalscorer – joined the Serie A champions in a deal worth €112million in July.

But Madrid claimed 10 points from their opening four La Liga games under new boss Julen Lopetegui, with Ronaldo’s old attacking allies Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema coming to the fore.

Former Barcelona right-back 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 Marca.

‘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.’

PSG launch their Champions League campaign at Liverpool on Tuesday, while Juventus travel to Valencia a day later.

Madrid begin the quest for a fourth successive title in another La Liga-versus-Serie A clash when they take on last season’s semi-finalists Roma.