Dani Alves was credited with three assists and scoring the final goal himself in the two-legged semi-final against Monaco, and the Brazilian arrived in Turin on a free from Barcelona. Jerk takes a look at 11 other extremely successful free signings...
1. Robert Baggio (Milan to Bologna, 1997)
In 1997, when the aura of the "St. Ponytail" seemed to be fading, Baggio chose to leave Milan after the expiration of his contract, and then Parma boss Carlo Ancelotti, who had the chance to get him for free, chose to give it up.
Bologna quickly grabbed the treasure and got a taste of it the following season: Baggio scored 22 goals and offered 6 assists, leaving the relegation favorites in 8th place.Baggio's excellent performances also earned him a place in the Italy '98 World Cup squad, and he joined the Blue and Blacks afterwards.
2. Steve McManaman (Liverpool to Real Madrid, 1999)
McManaman was criticized for agreeing a personal deal with Real Madrid in the middle of the 98/99 season, but his decision to go to Madrid from Liverpool soon proved to be the right one. Although the Galacticos were not at peace at the time, Raul even warned that the dressing room was full of lies, betrayals and gossip, suggesting that McManaman's decision was unwise.
However, the team member soon conquered the Bernabeu and eventually helped Real Madrid win two La Liga titles and two Champions League titles in four seasons.
3. Gary McAllister (Coventry to Liverpool, 2000)
When Liverpool brought in a 35 year old in 2000, many people frowned, but McAllister used his experience to illustrate what it meant to be old and strong. In the midfield of Houllier's team, he had a good sense of ease and control, and in his first season at Anfield, he helped the Reds win the League Cup and the League Cup treble.
The former Leeds man made 49 appearances in all competitions that season and scored key goals against Everton, Barcelona and Alaves and shone as a leader in midfield.
4. Sol Campbell (Tottenham Hotspur to Arsenal, 2001)
The free transfer has provoked two completely different reactions among the two North London teams. Campbell, who is a Tottenham Hotspur youth trainee and captained the team, has arguably shocked by choosing to join Arsenal.
The anger of the Tottenham fans was never truly quenched, and for many years Campbell was regarded as a traitor by many White Hart Lane fans and was subjected to endless ridicule and abuse. However, the Three Lions center-back swore that he had no regrets about his decision with two Premier League titles and three FA Cups, and Campbell also opened the scoring for the **Handlers in the 2006 Champions League final, regretting that Barcelona would later go on to lift the Big Ears Cup in Paris.
. Jeje Okocha (Grand Paris to Bolton, 2002)
In the early years of this century, Big Sam assembled a **quite** good collection of players at the Reebok Stadium. However amongst a host of stars such as Fernando Cielo, Ivan Campo and Djokovic, Bolton fans' favorite is still Okocha.
"I arranged to meet him at Charles de Gaulle airport," Allardyce said in his autobiography, published in 2015, "and Jay-Jay came to see me on his own, without even an agent, and told me that he wanted to play for Bolton. I was thinking it might take a few weeks to finalize this, but we finalized it at the airport and he promised to come back to England with me the next day to do the paperwork. I thought he would fly, but he drove all the way from Paris to Bolton, stopped the car, walked straight into the club and signed the contract, perfect!"
The star was a natural born optimist, leaving fans with countless exciting tricks in the Premier League, and not many skepticisms all but disappeared after Okocha helped Bolton excel in the Premier League while reaching the knockout stages of the 05/06 League Cup.
6. Esteban Cambiasso (Real Madrid to Inter, 2004)
Cambiasso helped his side survive a shock relegation at Leicester City in 2014, yet he was worth much more on a free transfer 10 years ago.
After making just nine appearances for Real Madrid in the 2003/04 season, the international arrived at Inter and quickly established himself as a starter in Roberto Mancini's side, helping the Blue and Blacks win in his debut season at the Stadio Meazza.
Before arriving in England in 2014, Cambiasso won 10 trophies for Inter, including five Serie A titles and one Champions League.
7. Raul Gonzalez (Real Madrid to Schalke 04, 2010)
Raul lost his place at Real Madrid in the 2009/10 season, with the one-time Bernabeu legend making just eight appearances as Carlo shone.
When he confirmed that he would not renew his contract with Real Madrid, Schalke jumped on board. Raul helped his team reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2011 and helped Schalke finish 3rd in the Bundesliga at the end of his second season.
8. Andrea Pirlo (Milan to Juve, 2011)
Juve's arrival of Conte in 2011 marked the start of the Juve dynasty in Serie A, but Pirlo's arrival from Milan that summer also represented a major migration of power in Italian soccer.
Pirlo, who gave 10 years of his life, seemed dispensable for the Red and Blacks at the time, but Milan realized they had made a big mistake when the backfield brain ran away to Turin. Pirlo helped Juve win four consecutive Serie A titles before moving on to New York City in 2015.
"When Andrea first told me he was joining us, my first thought was, God help me Juve!" Buffon once said.
9. Miroslav Klose (Bayern to Lazio, 2011)
All fans who have watched the World Cup over the last 15 years will be well aware of Klose's scoring prowess, but when the German arrived in the city of Rome at the age of 33, the skepticism of Lazio fans was justified. The doubters soon subsided, however, as Klose scored five goals on his Lazio debut. Klose added the winning goal against Roma in October of that year, and in 2016, Klose hung up his boots as the Blue Eagles' all-time top scorer for non-Italian players.
10. Paul Pogba (Manchester United to Juve, 2012)
From a financial point of view alone, this definitely counts as one of the greatest free transfers of all time, as after signing Pogba on a free in 2012, Juve sold the Frenchman back to Old Trafford four years later for a world-record £89 million.
The French midfielder shone for the Zebras and grew to become one of the best midfielders on the planet, contributing to Juve's title run.
11. Robert Lewandowski (Borussia Dortmund to Bayern, 2014)
In the summer of 2013, Dortmund refused to sell Levan to Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich, knowing full well that the man might still join the giant Bayern a year later. Sure enough, Lewandowski arrived at Bayern after his contract expired in 2014. The winger's recent second goal against Wolfsburg gave him 108 goals in 145 Bayern appearances.
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