A ridiculously good XI of free transfers signed by Juventus: Pirlo, Alves, Pogba
As Juventus prepare to welcome Aaron Ramsey, it is beginning to dawn on us how prolific the club are at wrapping up free transfers.
The Welshman will add his name to a laundry list of players to move to the Turin club on a free, demonstrating the pull of the famous club (yes, the reported wage increase probably doesn’t hurt in his case).
In fact, there have been so many that we’ve been able to put a full XI together, with every player in his proper position.
Goalkeeper – Neto
Probably the weakest part of the team, but Neto is hardly the sort of talent you should sniff at.
The Brazilian joined from Fiorentina as a back-up to Gigi Buffon, and most of his 20+ appearances came in cup competitions. This did, however, mean he started in goal for the Coppa Italia final victories of both 2016 and 2017.
Now at Valencia, he earned his first international cap in 2016 and edges out compatriot Rubinho in Juve’s free transfer XI
Right-Back – Dani Alves
Another Brazilian, and honestly could it be anyone else?
Barcelona considered Alves surplus to requirements when they allowed him to leave on a free in 2016, a year before his contract was up.
And he made them look extremely stupid, playing 90 minutes as Juve destroyed Barça 3-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final.
He ended his one season in Turin with a league and cup double, plus an appearance in a European final, before leaving for Paris Saint-Germain.
Dani Alves has won 38 trophies in his senior career:
🏆 23 for Barcelona 🇪🇸
🏆 5 for Sevilla 🇪🇸
🏆 4 for PSG 🇫🇷
🏆 3 for Brazil 🇧🇷
🏆 2 for Juventus 🇮🇹
🏆 1 for Bahia 🇧🇷One of the most decorated players ever. pic.twitter.com/MicvY1ejL6
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) May 8, 2018
Centre-Back – Fabio Cannavaro
Not the centre-back’s first, more impressive spell – that would have been too good to be true – but his return from Real Madrid.
The 2006 World Cup winner wasn’t quite as impressive in his second stint, sticking around for just one season, and his final European game for the club saw him dismissed just half an hour into a momentous Europa League defeat at Fulham.
Still, he gets in ahead of another big-name veteran, Lúcio, who barely made an impact after joining in 2012.
Centre-Back – Olof Mellberg
When Mellberg left Aston Villa in 2008, he was always likely to be in relatively high demand, but Juve wasn’t the obvious destination.
The Sweden international arrived off the back of more than 250 games in a Villa shirt and played regularly in the Champions League, including in a group stage double over Real Madrid.
Mellberg’s versatility came in handy, too, as he occasionally covered for right-back Zdenek Grygera, another freebie.
Left-Back – Federico Balzaretti
Balzaretti might not have been the highest-profile arrival for Juve fans, but his move meant a great deal to the club he left.
It was difficult for the Turin native, who moved from boyhood club Torino to their local rivals in 2005, but his first season brought a title – albeit one which was quickly taken away when Juventus were demoted as part of the Calciopoli scandal.
The left-back stuck around to help Juve return to Serie A before leaving for Fiorentina and then Palermo, and it was during his time with the Sicilian club that he featured heavily in Italy’s run to the Euro 2012 final.
Defensive Midfield – Andrea Pirlo
How Milan must have regretted letting Pirlo leave in 2011, even if it wasn’t obvious how much he had left to give at the age of 32.
Certainly, few will have expected Juve to get four full seasons out of the magisterial midfielder, each one of them bringing league titles, plus a run to the Champions League final in 2015.
He even reinvigorated his international career while in Turin, leading his country to the final of Euro 2012 and travelling to the Brazil World Cup as a 35-year-old.
READ: 16 of the best quotes on Andrea Pirlo: ‘He speaks with his feet’
Central Midfield – Emre Can
Germany midfielder Can might only be in his first Juve season, but he has already made an impact.
The former Liverpool and Bayer Leverkusen man scored his first goal for the club against Chievo in January, adding a second in a league win at Sassuolo, and has shown his worth in a stacked midfield.
He edges out Cristiano Zanetti, the midfielder who helped bring Juventus back to the top flight in the 2006-07 season.
Central Midfield – Sami Khedira
Another member of the current crop, Khedira is also another who it’s hard to believe was available for free.
The German let his contract at Real Madrid run down after winning everything with Los Blancos, even starting the 2014 Champions League final, but decided to move to pastures new in 2015.
Three Serie A titles immediately followed, while he is back to producing the goal return of his Stuttgart days.
Attacking Midfield – Paul Pogba
If Milan’s decision to let Pirlo leave on a free proved costly, the same can be said in quite literal terms of Pogba.
The Frenchman earned Juve a massive £89million on returning to Manchester United, the club from which the Bianconeri signed him as a teenager in 2012.
Four seasons, four league titles, three appearances in the Serie A Team of the Year, one in UEFA’s equivalent for all of Europe, and one in the FIFPro equivalent for the whole world.
Not bad for someone who joined upon the expiry of his Manchester United contract.
Forward – Luca Toni
Toni only spent one season with Juve, and he was already getting on in years, but made history by scoring the first ever goal at the Juventus Stadium.
The scorer of the second? Lee Hughes, then of Notts County, who provided the opposition for the grand opening and secured a 1-1 draw.
The 2006 World Cup winner (Toni, not Hughes) would spend just 12 months with Juve, scoring just twice in Serie A including a late winner against former club Genoa, but his name will live on in the history books.
READ: An ode to Luca Toni top scoring in Serie A and being the dog’s bollocks at 38
Forward – Fernando Llorente
Spanish international Llorente gets the final spot ahead of Kingsley Coman, and it’s hard to argue with his inclusion.
The most handsome man in the Premier League was still in his 20s when he joined Juve from Athletic Bilbao, which is news to us because we’d assumed he’d always been between the ages of 30 and 33.
He did pretty well for the club too, scoring 27 goals in his two full seasons. He even got a late run-out in the Champions League final, but wasn’t able to prevent Barcelona sealing victory.
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