:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/18610727/168561748.0.jpg)
Alessandro Matri and his infamous duck celebration are going to the San Siro.
The 29-year-old striker, who Juventus signed from Cagliari in January 2011, is officially heading back to the club he grew up at after Juve and AC Milan agreed to a move that sends the 29-year old striker to Milanello. Matri underwent medical exams earlier in the day on Friday, thus completing his €11 million move from Juventus to Milan.
From Juventus' official website:
Juventus Football Club S.p.A. announces that an agreement has been finalized with AC Milan S.p.A for the definitive disposal of the registration rights of the player Alessandro Matri for a consideration of €11 million to be paid in four years. The economic effect on the 2013/2014 financial year will be positive for about €0.6 million.
Welcome to the new red&black @Ale_Matri / Benvenuto al nuovo rossonero Alessandro #Matri! http://t.co/i6F4GPUOBi pic.twitter.com/3d1OSqRLmn
— AC Milan (@acmilan) August 30, 2013
Matri, who scored 11 goals in the second half of the 2011-12 season with Juve after arriving from Cagliari on loan (with Beppe Marotta's go-to options to buy), is likely to be a backup to Mario Balotelli at Milan. He finished with 27 goals in 69 Serie A games in a Juventus shirt. And with all the upgrades Milan tifo say their team needs in midfield and defense, signing a striker capable of scoring a good number of goals makes a whole lot of sense.
Okay, so maybe it doesn't.
But from Juventus' standpoint, getting €11 million for a striker who would probably barely play with Fernando Llorente and Carlos Tevez in town is a pretty good figure. Matri, for as good as he was when Antonio Conte first took over as Juve manager, didn't thrive the same way he did in the 3-5-2 formation as he did in Conte's 4-3-3.
Either way, Matri was one of the players that helped Juventus get to where they are today. His goals won a number of games — and a pair of Scudetti — for Juventus over the past 2 1/2 years, his girlfriend made as swoon. Hey, it was one of Beppe Marotta's better moves and it certainly paid dividends.