Juventus manager Antonio Conte has declared that he was against Alessandro Matri's sale to AC Milan, but was forced to accept a busy summer meant players had to leave Turin before the transfer window closed.

Matri completed a move to Juve's Serie A title rivals AC Milan earlier today, for a fee believed to be in the region of £9m.

The Italy international decided to join Milan with first-team chances limited at the defending champions thanks to the arrival of strike duo Carlos Tevez and Fernando Llorente.

Conte has insisted that losing Matri and Emanuele Giaccherini has weakened his squad ahead of their attempt to land a third successive Scudetto, crediting the forward as being instrumental in Juve's recent success.

He told reporters at a pre-match press conference: "Matri is the striker who has scored the most goals here over the last two years.

"I would never have sacrificed him if we were not in an economical crisis. A Coach has to live with the current situation and accept certain exits. But I hope that one day I'm told I have €50m to spend on the market in the way I want.

"Matri's sacrifice underlines that the financial situation in Italy is difficult, with a few exceptions like Napoli. Sides like Juventus are forced to sell when important offers are made. People say that the gap between us and the rst has increased, but we have been weakened with the departures of Matri and Giaccherini."

Juve continue their title defence in a maiden home match of the new campaign tomorrow night, when Lazio make the trip to Turin.