LONDON/MILAN: Juventus shares soared more than 20 percent on Wednesday after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to overturn a two-goal deficit and defeat Atletico Madrid in a key Champions League match.
The victory on Tuesday night put the Turin-based club through to the quarter finals of the competition, qualifying the Italian champions for about 10.5 million euros (US$11.9 million) in additional payments.
The cash would be on top of the 9.5 million euros the Italian club received for reaching the last 16.
At 0940 GMT, the shares were up 16 percent topping the leader board on the Milan bourse after hitting their highest since late January in early trading. The shares were on track for their best day since October 2013.
“Considering the amount they gain by qualifying for the next round against the odds, it is quite fair,” said a trader.
“Plus looking forward, the only obstacle for them might be Barcelona (if they do qualify) or possibly Man City, the other clubs aren’t that great.”
Juventus are controlled by Exor, the investment holding of Italy’s Agnelli family, which owns nearly 64 percent of the soccer team.
English clubs Manchester City, Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur have reached the last eight of the Champions League, along with Ajax Amsterdam and Porto.
The winners of Wednesday night’s ties between Barcelona and Olympique Lyonnais, and Bayern Munich and Liverpool will complete the line-up. The draw for the quarter-finals of the Champions League takes place on Friday. --Reuters