Juventus' 10 biggest sales of all time

James Shearman

• 25 Sept 2024 13:32 BST
• 6 min read

Juventus are Italy's most dominant club historically, and part of that success has been built on being shrewd in the transfer market, both with incomings and outgoings.

While the Bianconeri have splashed the cash and broken transfer records on superstars like Roberto Baggio and Cristiano Ronaldo, they have also made some of the most expensive sales ever.

Below, FootballTransfers runs through the 10 biggest sales in Juventus' history.

10. Alvaro Morata - €30m (to Real Madrid, 2016)

Alvaro Morata enjoyed a prolific two-year stint at Juventus after joining the club from Real Madrid in 2014 and his performances in Turin convinced Los Blancos to re-sign him in 2016.

The Spaniard left the Old Lady having scored 59 goals and provided 39 assists in 185 appearances, but his time back at the Santiago Bernabeu didn't go as planned.

Morata was a back-up option to Karim Benzema, but Chelsea were still convinced to spend €66m to sign him one year after his return to Spain. As a result, this was a fine piece of business from Real Madrid.

9. Filippo Inzaghi - €36.2m (to AC Milan, 2001)

A resounding success at Juventus, with 57 goals in 120 Serie A appearances, Filippo Inzaghi's departure to a domestic rival perhaps wasn't a smart decision.

Even though his replacement, David Trezeguet, was a superb player himself, the Bianconeri surely would have been better served keeping Inzaghi at the club.

He went on to lift the Champions League trophy for Milan in 2007, scoring both goals in a 2-1 win over Liverpool.

8. Mattia Caldara - €37.7m (to AC Milan, 2018)

Receiving €37.7m for a player that never made an appearance for your club is excellent business by anyone's standards, and that is exactly what happened when Juventus sold Mattia Caldara to AC Milan in 2018.

The Italian defender was a disastrous signing for Milan and spent time out on loan at Atalanta, Venezia and Spezia without making an impact at San Siro.

This was a superb sell from Juve.

7. Arturo Vidal - €39.3m (Bayern Munich, 2015)

Selling Arturo Vidal was a very smart business decision by Juventus as the Chilean joined Bayern Munich while still at his peak, but just before his inevitable decline.

This maximised the fee the club could receive, something that has been replicated many times over the years.

Vidal left Juventus with 48 goals, 171 appearances and six trophies won after a sensational spell in Turin. He returned to Italy when he joined Inter Milan in 2020 after a stint at Barcelona.

6. Leonardo Bonucci - €42m (AC Milan, 2017)

Leonardo Bonucci was sold to rivals Milan in 2017 for a very handsome fee, with the defender said to be wanting a new challenge.

However, just 12 months after his arrival, all parties involved came to an agreement for the reversal of this transfer, with the Old Lady making a minimal profit.

Bonucci was not as good at Juventus in his second spell, but he did play a crucial role as Italy won Euro 2020. He left Juve in 2023 in acrimonious circumstances to join Union Berlin before he retired a year later.

5. Miralem Pjanic - €60m (to Barcelona, 2020)

Receiving this sum of money for a 30-year-old who was on the way down was a superb piece of business by Juventus.

Miralem Pjanic proved to be one of Barcelona's worst-ever signings as he barely played in his first year at the club before being loaned out to Besiktas and then sent to Sharjah for free in 2022.

It should be noted, though, that Juventus also signed Arthur Melo at an inflated price during the same summer as Pjanic moved to Barca. So this was, in reality, a swap deal made for financial reasons.

4. Joao Cancelo - €65m (to Man City, 2019)

The perfect modern full-back, Joao Cancelo became a superstar at Manchester City, on the left and right side of the defence.

And unlike Pjanic or Bonucci, the Portuguese player was of an age where the fee that Juve could command would only rise each year.

So it's not often that you can call a €65m sale a mistake, but Cancelo arguably proved he was worth more than that during his time at Man City.

3. Matthijs de Ligt - €67m (to Bayern Munich, 2022)

Matthijs de Ligt became Bayern's third-most expensive signing of all time following his mega move from Juventus and he is also Juve's third-biggest sale of all time as well.

The Dutch international spent three years in Turin before seeking a transfer away this summer, with Bayern his preference.

After weeks of negotiations, Bayern landed De Ligt for a fee of €67m but just like at Juve he struggled to live up to his potential in Bavaria. After two years at Bayern he joined Man Utd in the summer of 2024.

2. Zinedine Zidane - €77.5m (to Real Madrid, 2001)

Despite being one of the greatest players of all time, selling Zinedine Zidane for a then-world record fee proved to be a masterstroke by Juventus.

With the Zidane money, Juve signed three world-class players in order to build a new, dominant team.

Those three players were Gigi Buffon, Lilian Thuram and Pavel Nedved. Three world-class players for one.

Zidane showed his class as a player at Real Madrid and he won six trophies during his time at the Santiago Bernabeu, including the 2002 Champions League.

1. Paul Pogba - €105m (to Man Utd, 2016)

In arguably the deal of the century, Juventus, with the help of Mino Raiola, were able to poach a young midfielder by the name of Paul Pogba from Sir Alex Ferguson's Manchester United on a free transfer in 2012.

Pogba went on to become one of the best and most marketable stars in world football in Turin, before re-joining United for €105m - which was a world record fee at the time.

That fee was pure profit for Juventus, with the decision to sign him on a free transfer four years earlier proving to be a masterstroke.

Pogba never lived up to his fee back at United and actually rejoined Juventus on a free transfer in 2022. That move proved to be a disaster but it couldn't erase the success of his first spell and sale.

The 10 biggest Juventus sales of all time