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Juventus' search for a top-flight striker has been a long, somewhat depressing road. It hasn't gone well at times — some deals ended up flaming out before they even got started, others ended up with Nicklas Bendtner. See? Things didn't go exactly like a lot of us hoped, with less-than-steller outcomes happening just about any time expectations were raised.
Well, that was until June 25 happened. All Beppe Marrota and Fabio Paratici needed was the opening to swoop in and get Carlos Tevez and that's exactly what they did. A deal worth €9 million with a possible €6 million in bonuses based on Juventus' performance is what it cost to bring the 29-year-old Argentine to Turin.
No more waiting. No more 'reports' of what may or may not be true. Courtesy of Juventus' official website:
Juventus Football Club has today completed the capture of Carlos Alberto Tévez from Manchester City.
The Argentine forward, who will wear the number 10 shirt, has agreed to sign a contract which will keep him with the club until 30 June 2016.Welcoming Tévez to the Bianconeri's city centre headquarters were Andrea Agnelli, Giuseppe Marotta and Aldo Mazzia. The striker then moved to conduct the first part of his medical at Turin's Fornaca di Sessant and Isokinetic medical centres.
After undergoing the second half of his medical tomorrow, Thursday 27 June, the 29-year-old will subsequently be presented to the media at Juventus Stadium from 11.30am (CET) onwards.
Carlos Tévez joins Juventus! Send your welcome messages to our new champion: #WelcomeCarlitos pic.twitter.com/LtuNkeMaKf
— JuventusFC (@juventusfc) June 26, 2013
Ah, now we can all relax a bit. Bravo, Beppe. Bravo.
It's the end of what was a two-year courtship between the Juventus management and the Argentine striker. A lot has happened since then — both for the player himself and for Juve as a club. What was once thought of as a deal that could be one of the highest Juve has paid in quite some time is now half that figure. Part of it is Manchester City's willingness to sell the out-of-favor striker, part of it has to do with the fact that he has one year left on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, part of it very well may be Marotta and Paratici's ability to negotiate deals.
Heck, it may be all three of them for all we know.
But what is certain is this: Carlos Tevez is officially a Juventus player — and that's a very, very good thing.