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Juventus shares plunge after Champions League blow, Ajax leaps

Shares in Ajax surge to a record high after knocking Juventus out in quarter finals

Juventus shares were down 16.15 per cent in early trading. File photograph: Alberto Lingria/Reuters

Wed Apr 17 2019 - 10:15

Shares in Juventus plunged as much as a quarter in value on Wednesday after the Italian soccer club was knocked out of the Uefa Champions League by Ajax Amsterdam.

Shares in the Dutch club, in contrast, surged to a record high as it advanced to the semi-final of the lucrative competition for the first time since 1996/97.

Turin-based Juventus lost 1-2 at home to Ajax on Tuesday night in the second leg of the quarter finals, resulting in a 2-3 aggregate defeat.

Juventus shares were down 16.6 per cent in early trading at €1.4075, after trading as low as €1.275. Ajax shares were up 8.45 per cent at €18.60.

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Juventus signed Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo last summer for a transfer fee of €100 million in the hope he would help the club win Europe's elite soccer competition, as he did with Real Madrid for the past three seasons.

Elusive treble

Juventus has won the Italian league title seven times in a row, but has never managed to win the “treble” of the domestic league, Italy’s cup competition and the Champions League.

Juventus, which has already been knocked out of the domestic cup competition this season, missed the chance to clinch an eighth consecutive Serie A title on Saturday after a surprise 2-1 defeat at SPAL.

– Reuters

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