Sydney confirms Del Piero coup

World Cup winner Del Piero has been a free agent since the end of last season after leaving Juventus, having scored a record 286 goals in 698 appearances in all competitions for the Bianconeri.

The deal to take him to Sydney is reportedly the most lucrative in A-League history - $2 million for one season.

Sydney chief executive Tony Pignata will fly to Italy over the weekend to conclude the signing of the contract of the former Juventus forward in what is one of the biggest signings in Australian sports history.

"This is huge for Sydney FC, huge for the A-League and huge for Australian football," Barlow said.

"We feel honoured that Alessandro has decided to play for Sydney FC and we share his excitement that a move to Sydney FC will create a lasting legacy for football in this country.

"I want to thank Tony Pignata and Lou Sticca for the outstanding work over the last few days in progressing discussions with Alessandro and look forward to Tony finalising the contract in Italy over the coming days."

Del Piero holds league records of 513 appearances and 208 goals in Serie A and Serie B for Juventus. He also made 91 appearances for the Azzurri, scoring 27 goals in the process.

Sydney has hastened to add that nothing has been finalised yet.

"Alessandro Del Piero has not signed a contract with Sydney FC as yet. The two parties have agreed to have a meeting in Turin early next week to confirm the possibility of signing a contract," Barlow said.

Alessandro Del Piero major honours:

Serie A (6): 1994–95, 1996–97, 1997–98, 2001–02, 2002–03, 2011–12 (also won two more in 2004-05, 2005–06 but titles were removed from Juventus after calciopoli)

1995 Coppa Italia

1996 UEFA Champions League

1996 UEFA Super Cup

1996 Intercontinental Cup

2006 FIFA World Cup