On This Day in 2019 – Aaron Ramsey signs pre-contract agreement with Juventus

Juventus announced a deal to sign Wales midfielder Aaron Ramsey at the end of his Arsenal contract on this day in 2019.

Ramsey, then 28, signed a pre-contract agreement to join the Italian giants as a free agent when his Arsenal deal expired at the end of June.

He agreed a four-year contract with Juve on wages of over £400,000 a week to become the highest-earning British footballer in history based on basic salary.

Ramsey had held preliminary talks with Barcelona and had received an offer from Paris St Germain, while Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter Milan had all shown interest.

Signed by Arsenal as a 17-year-old from Cardiff for £5million at the age of 17, Ramsey turned down the London club’s offer of a new deal the previous September.

He made 262 Premier League appearances for the Gunners, scoring 40 goals, with a season-best haul of 16 in all competitions in 2013-14.

But his spell in Italy was dogged by injury. He won the Serie A title with Juve in his first season and the Coppa Italia the following year, but made only 70 appearances in two and a half seasons, scoring six goals.

He never completed a back-to-back 90 minutes for Juve and became a fringe player when Massimiliano Allegri returned to the club as head coach in the summer of 2021.

Ramsey returned to the UK with Rangers on transfer deadline day last month, signing a six-month loan deal in a bid to kick-start his career.