The value of playing in the Champions League was underlined yesterday when Italy’s Juventus reported a return to profit in the first six months of its financial year.

Juventus, set for a place in the last eight of the Champions League, made a profit of €11.3 million in the six months to the end of December, having lost €34.6 million in the same period a year earlier.

Juventus have been revitalised by a move into their own new stadium. That is a rarity in Italy where big clubs often play in shared grounds owned by local authorities, limiting their ability to build money-spinning corporate boxes.

Revenues at the Turin-based club leapt by 75 per cent to €149 million in the first half, helped by an additional €42.8 million of TV money from the Champions League.

Juventus won the Italian league last season without losing a game to complete their recovery after the most successful club in Italian football history were relegated in 2006 over a bribery scandal.

The club expects to make a loss for the 2012-13 season as a whole but it would be significantly less than last year’s figure of almost €50 million.

Juventus have paid €11.7m to buy a plot of land adjacent to their new stadium from the Turin city council. They plan to build a new training and media centre on the site.

Top European clubs are under pressure to get their finances in order to comply with UEFA’s new Financial Fair Play rules that could lead to teams being barred from European competition if they make excessive losses.