8 stars Juventus signed on a free transfer in recent years

#2. Paul Pogba

Juventus sold Pogba for a then world record fee

Signing Pogba on a free transfer was beneficial to Juventus not only because of his performance but also because of the profit they made on him.

The Frenchman left Manchester United to join Juventus in 2012 after receiving very little first-team opportunities and he received the opportunities he craved for immediately after joining the Italian giants. In fact, Gianluigi Buffon couldn’t believe the midfielder came for free.

“Pogba is one of those players who leaves you speechless. When he came we didn’t know him but after only three or four training sessions we were impressed by his enormous qualities. My team-mates and me looked at each other as if to say, ‘Are they blind in Manchester?’.”

Pogba played 178 games for Juventus scoring 34 goals and assisting a further 30. In his final season with Juve, he topped the Serie A assist chart.

During his stint with Juventus, Pogba notably won 9 trophies at the club level, won the Golden Boy award in 2013, was named in the Serie A Team of the Year thrice, was named the best young player at the 2014 FIFA World Cup, finished 5th in the Ballon d’Or voting in 2015 and was included in the FIFPro World XI in 2015.

When he left Juventus to return to Manchester United in 2016, Juventus received a then world record fee of £89.3 million!