Parma Transfer Market, 20-million-sale: Defender Sought After by Juventus Leaves Serie A

Alessandro Circati has officially left Parma. The Emilia-based club has confirmed the transfer of the center back to Benfica, which paid 20 million euros for the permanent acquisition of his contract. “Parma Calcio 1913 announces that it has sold the playing rights of defender Alessandro Circati to SL Benfica on a permanent basis,” reads the statement from the Crociati club, for which the Australian international played a total of 96 matches, including winning the Serie B championship in 2024.

Promoted to the Gialloblù first team one year after his arrival in Parma (where he had started in the Primavera League), Circati has made 37 appearances in Serie A and scored 2 goals, after contributing to the 2023–24 promotion and the two season-saving campaigns that followed Parma’s return to the top flight. In the meantime, he has also become a key player for the Australian national team, with whom he has made 17 appearances and participated in the 2026 World Cup.

During this summer transfer window, Circati had also been linked with Juventus, before the Bianconeri turned their attention to Jhon Lucumí, who was officially signed by the Old Lady in recent days. Born in Fidenza but raised in Perth (his father Gianfranco, also a soccer player, settled in Western Australia at the end of his career), Circati came up through the Perth Soccer Club and Perth Glory before joining Parma in 2021.

A serious cruciate ligament injury had virtually derailed his entire 2024–2025 season, but the following year, Circati proved he was back to his best, impressing Gialloblù coach Carlos Cuesta and attracting the attention of several clubs in Italy and across Europe. In the end, Benfica came out on top.