Fabio Capello says Juventus are better off this season after replacing Paul Pogba with Gonzalo Higuain.
Juve signed Higuain, 28, from Serie A rivals Napoli for a club-record €90 million several days before agreeing to sell Pogba, 23, to Manchester United for a world-record €105m.
"They did well to sell Pogba and sign Higuain," ex-Juve boss Capello told Sky Sport Italia. "He's a player who can give them that edge. He's ready to do it. They now have a squad of the highest order with experience, which is what you need to be competitive in Europe."
Capello expects Juve to battle it out with Real Madrid, Barcelona and Bayern Munich for the Champions League title this season while their domestic dominance seems set to continue.
Conversely, AC Milan do not appear any closer to a return to Europe, with Capello, who led the Rossoneri to four Serie A titles between 1992 and 1996, disappointed by their recent results and the impending sale of the club to Chinese investors, even though he hopes the future can be as successful as the past was under Silvio Berlusconi.
"Berlusconi had a stellar Milan," he said. "If you want to be competitive in Europe then you need substantial resources and Milan's current balance sheet doesn't reflect that, so let's hope these Chinese are able to change that -- I truly hope so.
"I hope everything goes well, like it did with Inter. Let's hope the deal is concluded soon so that the team can think about football and the club can work on the January transfer window."
Milan's 1-0 home defeat to Udinese at the weekend has already seen them fall six points behind the league leaders Juventus with just one win and two defeats from their opening three matches. As a result, they are just two points above the relegation zone.