Juventus are showing they want to win the Champions League at any cost. And the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, among other stellar names, has made the 'bianconeri' favourites for this year's competition. However, such a project requires strong economic support.

As it happens, this has not proved to be a huge problem for the club. Juventus have managed to strike good deals for six players not in manager Massimiliano Allegri's plans this season. Among them are gems, flops, home-grown players and some who never even made their debut for the first team.

Last summer they made their first big sale - Rolando Mandragora to Udinese. The midfielder went for €20 million, having only played five minutes in his two years at the club. Meanwhile the promising Riccardo Orsolini left for Bologna for €12 million without even making a first-team appearance.

Mattia Caldara followed suit in perhaps the most painful sale of them all. Juventus allowed the young centre-back to leave for €35 million, with arch-rivals AC Milan the Italian's destination. His exit served to 'repatriate' Leonardo Bonucci back to Juventus. Just like Orsolini, Caldara hadn't played in a single official match for the club.

And in the January just gone, Juventus made two more crucial sales. Emil Audero was sold to Sampdoria for €20 million, while Stefano Sturaro left for Genoa, bringing in another €16.5 million. The goalkeeper Audero was one of the club's 'jewels', while central-midfielder Sturaro never shone for the club in comparison.

Finally, the sale of Alberto Cerri to Cagliari was made official as recently as Tuesday. The young forward also never debuted for Juventus, but the club managed to obtain €9 million for him. The midfielder spent the first half of the season on loan at Cagliari, where he made only 10 appearances, scoring just the once.

The transfers of Mandragora, Orsolini, Caldara, Audero, Sturaro and Cerri have accumulated no less than €112.5 million, and together will prove to be a hugely important cash-injection for the club as they look towards future investments and the possibility of claiming that elusive Champions League trophy.

A. Cerri

Achievements