/world sport
TURIN, Italy -- Juventus have completed the signing of Liverpool's Mali international midfielder Mohamed Sissoko for a fee of $16 million on a five-year contract.
Sissoko will join forces once again with Claudio Ranieri, who was his manager at Valencia.
Juventus coach Claudio Ranieri had been chasing Sissoko for the majority of the January transfer window after it became clear Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez was open to offers.
Sissoko, who is currently on Africa Cup of Nations duty, joined Liverpool in 2005 in an $11 million move from Valencia.
However, the 23-year-old has struggled for first-team football at Anfield following the loan arrival of Javier Mascherano.
And Ranieri has now swooped to reinforce his central midfield as he bids to keep pace with Roma and Internazionale at the top of Seire A.
The sale of Sissoko is expected to provide Benitez with additional funds to finance a permanent transfer for Mascherano.
Sissoko -- who travelled to Italy to complete the deal despite participating for his country in Ghana -- becomes Juve's second signing of the transfer window period following defender Guglielmo Stendardo from Lazio.
"I'm happy to have joined such an important club, this move certainly constitutes a step forward in my career," said Sissoko.
"I feel very excited to think about the possibility of playing with great players such as (Gianluigi) Buffon and (Alessandro) Del Piero and to work under (Claudio) Ranieri, a great coach who I already know from my time at Valencia."
Sissoko started his career at Auxerre but never played a match before moving to Valencia in 2003, where he won the title and UEFA Cup in his first season.
A year later he moved to Liverpool where he added the FA Cup to his list of honors in 2006, but in his two-and-a-half seasons on Merseyside he could never hold down a regular first team spot.
"He is an important element in the strengthening of our squad," said Juventus administrator Jean-Claude Blanc. "Despite being only 23 Sissoko is a player of great experience having played more than 30 Champions League matches." E-mail to a friend 
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