With the Old Lady having announced that the Welshman will arrive in the summer for nothing, Goal looks at the Bianconeri's greatest free transfers
Getty Images1ANDREA PIRLO
"When Andrea [Pirlo] told me that he would come to Juve," Gianluigi Buffon revealed in 2011, "the first thing that I said was 'Thank God!'"
The Juve captain's joy was understandable. In what will be remembered as one of the worst appraisals in football history, AC Milan had felt that Pirlo, at the age of 31, was finished at the highest level.
As a result, they allowed him to run down his contract and join Juve on a free transfer.
It was, as Buffon predicted, "the deal of the century", with a Juve side coming off the back of two seventh-placed finishes romping to four successive Serie A titles with pass master Pirlo pulling the strings in midfield.
AdvertisementGetty Images2PAUL POGBA
"The word 'mistake' is not something you would normally associate with Alex Ferguson’s time at Manchester United," Zinedine Zidane acknowledged. "But I do think it was a mistake letting Paul Pogba leave." And a costly one at that.
Ferguson, understandably, still blames Mino Raiola for Pogba's departure, revealing that he disliked the Italian agent from the moment he first met him, but the fact of the matter is that United lost a player on a free transfer that they bought back in 2016 for a world-record €105m fee.
Juve certainly couldn't believe their luck, with Pogba making such an immediate impression on then coach Antonio Conte that he rejigged his midfield in order to facilitate the young Frenchman, who would play an integral role in four successive Serie A title triumphs before returning to Manchester.
Getty3FABIO CANNAVARO
Juventus had pulled off one of the greatest deals in their history when they signed Fabio Cannavaro from bitter rivals Inter in 2004 in exchange for reserve goalkeeper Fabian Carini.
The relatively small centre-half had flopped terribly at San Siro but he was rejuvenated by the Old Lady, so Bianconeri fans were less than impressed when he departed for Real Madrid after Juve were relegated to Serie B in 2006 for their role in the Calciopoli refereeing scandal.
"Even if I know this may be hard to believe, I would have stayed at Juventus had they remained in Serie A – even with a 30-point deduction," Cannavaro said, trying to justify his decision to those who felt he should have remained loyal to the club that had brought the very best out of him.
The World Cup winner returned on a free transfer just three years later, intent on reclaiming the affection of the fans with his performances on the field but, unfortunately, Cannavaro was a shadow of his former self and was let go at the end of one trying season in Turin.
Getty Images4FERNANDO LLORENTEIn the summer of 2013, Juventus won the race to sign Athletic Club legend Fernando Llorente, who was one of the most coveted free agents on the market after deciding to leave his beloved Bilbao after eight years at San Mames.
The giant striker took time to settle in Turin but he would go on to form a fantastic partnership with Carlos Tevez that fired the Bianconeri to a record-breaking Serie A points haul (102) on their way to Scudetto glory.
Llorente, who scored 27 times for the Old Lady, lost his place in the starting line-up to Alvaro Morata during his second – and final – season with Juve but he still proved a valuable squad player, not to mention an excellent, unifying influence on the dressing room, having gone out of his way to welcome both his fellow Spain international and Paulo Dybala into the squad with open arms.
