Juventus

The 2018 MLS All-Star team is one of the best we've seen in years, with a plethora of American and international talent. The side is led by Gerardo “Tata” Martino, current manager of Atlanta United and former Barcelona and Argentina coach. 

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Just days after it was reported that Real Madrid had lowered Cristiano Ronaldo’s buyout clause from over $1 billion to just $140 million, the latest rumors see Juventus meeting that asking price with a sensational swoop for the five-time Ballon d’Or winner. 

The curtain has come down on club football for the season and the World Cup is just around the corner. But football never ends. Not really. Now, we get to start speculating about transfers.

Serie A has always attracted envious glances. Clubs in Italy have players of the highest calibre and, with certain teams not able to measure up financially to their Spanish and English counterparts, selling these assets is an essential part of balancing the books.

So which potential Serie A transfers should you be following closely this summer?

Alisson (AS Roma)

Gianluigi Buffon played his final match for Juventus on Saturday after 656 appearances with the Old Lady. The legendary goalkeeper, among the greatest to ever play the position, said farewell to the Bianconeri fans at Allianz Stadium in Turin, and the tears were flowing from fans, the players and, of course, Buffon himself.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Italian shot-stopper Gianluigi Buffon confirmed that Saturday’s match between Juventus and Hellas Verona will serve as his final appearance for the club.

Juventus is officially the champion of Italy.

That’s seven in a row, for those who are counting.

For Massimiliano Allegri, this is a period of astonishing success. Coupled with the Coppa Italia they won last week, that makes it four domestic doubles on the bounce for the Old Lady. Following on from the foundations laid by Antonio Conte, Juventus has become a winning machine.

With Juventus set to take on the MLS All-Stars on August 1 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Old Lady legend Edgar Davids was on hand Wednesday to do a bit of scouting for his former club. The 45-year-old also did a bit of what “The Pit Bull” does best: he hammered something. 

How quickly can a man go from hero to villain?

For Kalidou Koulibaly, it was less than ten minutes of actual game time. After scoring the winning goal against Juventus in the dying minutes, reviving Napoli’s floundering title challenge, he was sent off in the first five minutes of the next game away to Fiorentina, squandering any resurgent hopes by setting the scene for a 3-0 thrashing by the home side.