JUVENTUS: MASTERS OF THE TRANSFER MARKET

Juventus are the masters of the transfer market. They consistently get value out of their deals. The Turin club just announced the signing of talented Frenchman Adrien Rabiot on a free from PSG. Rabiot, an elegant left-footed midfielder, is the second free transfer to join the Old Lady after Aaron Ramsey (another superb deal) this window.

Juventus are the free transfer kings ?⚫⚪ pic.twitter.com/8qZcoUAWYv

— SPORTbible (@sportbible) July 1, 2019

For years now, Juventus have been leading the way in signing quality, on a free. When they do decide to spend money, they are rarely wasteful and there is always a vision. They also know how to turn a healthy profit when selling on players.

Juventus is certainly worth doing a case study on in terms of extracting true value from transfers. Here is a list of great free and value transfers through recent years at the Old Lady.

Pirlo’s transfer story is legendary. In 2011, at the age of 32, he had just won his second Scudetto with AC Milan. During his decade at Milan, he also won three Champions Leagues. Weirdly enough, the club judged that Pirlo’s best years were behind him and allowed him to sign for free to Juventus.

Pirlo then decided to have one of his best campaigns. He bossed Serie A, spearheading a Juve side that went undefeated. With Pirlo the puppet master in his deep-lying playmaker role, not many sides could cope with Juve. He brought experience, leadership and technical quality. His sweeping long-range passes and free kicks became a feature of his time in Turin.

Brought in to finally break the Champions league drought, Ronaldo could not help them achieve that dream. He did score 21 goals and grabbed eight assists to win Serie A’s Most Valuable Player of the Year award.

Juventus realized that Ronaldo’s presence impacted the club beyond the white lines. Following the news of the transfer in 2018, Juventus’ shares skyrocketed by almost 40%, the clubs market valuation rose from €665 million to €815 million.

Ronaldo was the first athlete to reach 200 million combined followers across all social media platforms.  At 34, Ronaldo is still in great shape and could still prove to be that missing piece in the Champions League puzzle.

Vidal hit the ground running when he signed for the Old Lady.  The Chilean epitomised what a box-to-box midfielder is. A complete midfielder that was also an extension of manager Antonio Conte.

Besides his robust style of play, Vidal also knew how to seize the moments in big games. He netted hat-tricks, scored penalties and bossed the midfield when it really mattered.

Vidal’s numbers were nothing short of excellent during his spell at Juve. He was eventually sold for a healthy profit to Bayern Munich.

Pogba struggled to win over Sir Alex Ferguson and was unable to break into Manchester United’s first team. The talented teenager wanted to be guaranteed playing time, he rejected a new United contract and instead jetted off to Turin on a free.

He justified his signature in his maiden season, scoring a few long-range piledrivers. The next season, he became a fixture in the side alongside Pirlo and Vidal.

He was also sold back to Manchester United for a very healthy sum. Great business.

Tevez was an absolute steal for Juve, he scored more than a goal every two games in Serie A. He also hit seven in their famous run to the Champions League final in 2015.

Tevez was the missing link for Antonio Conte’ Juve. His goalscoring prowess transformed Juve from ‘very good’ to ‘superb’. In his two seasons, the team set a European record for points in a season and then reached the Champions League final.

The big striker was used wisely by Juventus when things weren’t going as planned. He formed a decent pairing with the likes of revel and Mario Mandzukic.

Llorente scored 27 goals in 68 appearances and won a ton of silverware in his two-year spell at Juventus, which includes three Scudetto’s.

Khedira has been a central part of the club’s success in recent seasons and has already won eight trophies there. He’s contracted at the club until 2021.

Another player Juventus have landed on a free from Real Madrid, but Germany international Khedira has been much more successful than Cannavaro was in his second Juve spell.

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