Cristiano Ronaldo's Juventus said to plan bond market debut

Italian football club plans to sell €150 million (Dh621.8m) of notes maturing in about five years, according to a source

Juventus' Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo reacts after Juventus opened the scoring during the Italian Serie A football match Sassuolo vs Juventus on February 10, 2019 at the Mapei Stadium - Citta del Tricolore stadium in Reggio Emilia. / AFP / Miguel MEDINA
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Juventus Football Club intends to make its debut in the euro bond market, offering investors a chance to finance Italy’s most-decorated soccer franchise.

The club plans to sell €150 million (Dh621.8m) of notes maturing in about five years, according to a source. Morgan Stanley and UBI Banca will manage the sale, the source said.

Juventus, which signed five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo last year, follows local rival Inter Milan and England-based Manchester United into bond markets. Inter priced €300 million of five-year notes in December 2017, which now yield about 4.8 per cent, while Manchester United sold dollar and pound notes in 2010 to refinance debt from a leveraged buyout.

Turin-based Juventus has dominated Italian soccer in recent years, finishing last season with a seventh consecutive domestic league title and a fourth straight win in the Italian Cup. The 120-year-old club was also the topic of a two-season TV series on Netflix.

Separately, Juventus announced it has signed the player Aaron Ramsey from English Premier League club Arsenal. Reports have said Ramsey, on a four-year contact, will earn around £400,000 (Dh1.8m) per week following the transfer, for which Arsenal will not be entitled to a fee. He will leave the north London club 11 years after arriving from Cardiff City.