Italy's World Cup-winning captain Fabio Cannavaro and Brazilian midfielder Emerson have agreed to join Real Madrid from troubled Serie A side Juventus.
Real did not disclose the cost of the deal but Spanish media said they would pay about €20 million for the pair who will be reunited with ex-Juve coach Fabio Capello who took charge of the nine-times European champions this month.
Cannavaro and Emerson are the first of a number of Juventus players expected to leave in the wake of Italy's match-fixing scandal, which resulted in the Serie A side being stripped of their last two league titles and relegated to the second division.
Their Juventus team mates Gianluca Zambrotta and Lilian Thuram are expected to join Real's arch-rivals Barcelona next week for a combined fee of about €19 million.
Real's two new signings are the club's first since Ramon Calderon took over as president at the beginning of the month.
Calderon originally pledged to bring AC Milan midfielder Kaka, Chelsea winger Arjen Robben and Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas to the Bernabeu, but resistance from these players' clubs and the arrival of Capello saw attention switch to the Juve players.
Real are also trying to sign Manchester United's Dutch international striker Ruud van Nistelrooy, but have had their initial bid rejected. Reuters
