Dani Alves: 'Real Madrid dangerous despite Cristiano Ronaldo exit'

Paris Saint-Germain defender Dani Alves has claimed that Real Madrid are "more of a team" without Cristiano Ronaldo, and will be 'even more dangerous' in the Champions League this season.

Los Blancos have won the European Cup in each of the last three years, with Ronaldo scoring 43 times in the competition since the start of the 2015-16 campaign.

The Portugal international managed 450 goals in total for the capital giants before joining Juventus this summer, but former Barcelona defender Alves has insisted that Madrid are still a serious threat in Europe.

"I think that, contrary to what everybody thinks, Madrid is more of a team without Cristiano," Marca quotes Alves as saying.

"Now it's a bit more difficult than it was before, before it was complicated for the opposition but focused a lot on Cristiano, and now it's a bit more dangerous, at least because of how I see football and my concept of the game.

"Madrid are more of a team now, it is obvious that Cristiano is a brutal loss for Madrid, but Madrid are Madrid."

Ronaldo opened his goalscoring account for Juventus with a brace in their 2-1 win over Sassuolo at the weekend.