HIGH ACHIEVERS: Jonathan David scores reported 5-year, $47.9 million (Cdn) soccer contract with Juventus

By Martin Cleary

Five years ago, former Canadian men’s soccer head coach John Herdman looked at striker Jonathan David and marvelled at his all-around skill.

“He’s a special talent. I think he’s got big things coming,” Herdman predicted with precision for the prolific goal scorer, who developed his game as a youth player in Ottawa.

It doesn’t get much bigger than what’s about to come down the field for the soft-spoken and humble David over the next year – being the focal point on a legendary Italian team before joining the Canadian men’s national team for the 2026 World Cup, which will be presented in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

On Aug. 24, David will put on the iconic black and white uniform of the Juventus Football Club, which is located in Turin, Italy, for his first game of the 2025-26 Serie A season. And it’s a home match as well in the 41,000-seat Allianz Stadium.

One of the top men’s sides in the world, Juventus has won 36 Serie A league titles, which is the most by any club in the top Italian league.

David signed a five-year contract with Juventus on July 4 worth $6 million euros ($9.59 million Canadian) a season, according to Gazzetta dello Sport. He also can earn bonuses up to $2 million euros ($3.2 Canadian).

While David was obtained as a free agent, having let his five-year deal with Lille of France’s Ligue 1 expire at the end of June, Juventus said it had to pay a hefty fee to acquire him – $12.5 million euros ($19.97 million Cdn) in additional costs related to agent and signing fees.

When his first season comes to an end, he’ll join the Canadian men’s team to prepare for his second World Cup, which is scheduled for June 11 to July 19.

But at the moment, The Iceman is becoming familiar with the Juventus soccer operation and his new surroundings.

“It feels very good. As a kid, you always looked up to Juventus as one of the top-10 biggest clubs in the world, so for me today, to be sitting here is an honour,” David said in a video with a Juventus media team official.

At 25, David is moving swiftly along the international soccer super highway. After playing his youth soccer for Gloucester Dragons, the Ottawa Gloucester Hornets and the Ottawa Internationals soccer clubs, he was spotted by a scout on a video.

The next thing David knew, he was in Belgium on a trial for the 2017-18 season with the KAA Gent organization at age 17. He signed his first pro contract with Gent as an 18-year-old in 2018 and had two eye-catching seasons, scoring 30 goals in 60 games. His 18 goals in 27 games earned him the Golden Boot as the top scorer in Belgium’s premier league for the 2019-20 season.

For a reported $30 million euros ($47.9 million Cdn), he joined Lille in France’s Ligue 1 for the 2020-21 season. That transfer fee was greater than the one that saw Edmonton’s Alphonso Davies move to Bayern Munich in 2018 from the Vancouver Whitecaps.

David had an exceptional one-contract, five-year career with Lille, which was highlighted by his goal scoring ability, versatility, teamwork and professionalism on and off the field. When he played his final home game at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, the appreciative David was showered with a rousing farewell.

And rightly so. In his 231 games for Lille, David scored 109 goals, which included 25 goals and 12 assists in 49 appearances in the 2024-25 season. He counted two goals in a 3-1 win over Brest last December to bring him to the 100-goal mark.

David’s all-around play put him on the radar of many of the world’s top clubs as a consistent goal scorer as a striker, a player who also could drop back and be effective and one who always seems to be in the right place at the right time.

In the months leading up to the end of his contract with Lille, there were talks with and in some cases offers from Napoli, which was the 2025 Serie A champion, Liverpool, Arsenal, Al Qadsiah of Saudi Arabia and a top team from Turkey.

The arrival of David may mean the departure of Dusan Vlahovic, who scored 10 goals in 29 games last season for Juventus and has recorded 43 goals in a career 104 games over four seasons as a Bianconeri. Juventus had David on its futures list for more than a year.

Looking to add more firepower to its lineup next season, Juventus is trying to move away from having Vlahovic on its roster. Vlahovic and David are both 25 years old as the latter is 14 days older.

“I’m not surprised because Juventus is a top club and David’s entourage, when we were still busy in the Gold Cup … had spoken to me about the possibility,” Canadian men’s head coach Jesse Marsch told Calciomercato.

“In recent months, many big European clubs have asked me for information about him. I’m happy that Jonathan has chosen Juventus.”

In the lead-up to the end of his Lille contract and the signing of his new pact with Juventus, David had his eyes sharply focused on signing with “a club with ambition that wants to do something.”

“Obviously, I would love to fight for titles, to win titles,” he told The Athletic in June. “A team that’s competitive, that has ambition, really, with a good sporting project.”

David may have found that with Juventus.

Here are three interesting facts about David’s time with Lille in Ligue 1:

· In his five years, he scored 87 goals in 178 regular-season games, which was second only to Kylian Mbappé, who had 111 goals.

· He was the only player to score 10 or more goals in each of the last five seasons.

· He made 204 shot attempts on target over five regular seasons, which was second to Mbappé’s 260.

Soccer fans can watch Juventus and Serie A games on FUBO.