- 21 Dec 2024
Juventus stunned after entire board RESIGNS amid financial investigation
Serie A side Juventus have been hit by the astonishing news that their entire board of directors have resigned, including president Andrea Agnelli and vice-president Pavel Nedved.
The decision was made during a meeting on Monday and managing director Maurizio Arrivabene will also leave, however he will remain in the interim in order to smoothly handover to the new regime.
The news comes in light of Juventus having been put under investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office for allegedly falsifying accounts.
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Juventus confirmed the decision 'having obtained new legal and accounting opinions from the independent experts appointed to assess the issues raised' according to a statement.
The club are suspected of falsifying their balance sheets in 2019, 2020 and 2021, with 16 of the club’s chiefs having been investigated including Nedved and Agnelli.
Agnelli had recently called a meeting with all the staff to ‘preach unity’ after club documents were searched by Italy’s financial police.
Italian outlet Gazzetta dello Sport claim that, among the documents was a form signed by Cristiano Ronaldo and Juventus stating that the club would pay the Portuguese forward €19.9 million during the pandemic, an agreement which is thought not to have been declared in their figures.
Juventus had announced salary reductions during the pandemic but investigators are now trying to prove this is not the case, which has ultimately led to the decision made by the board.
End of an era for Juventus and Agnelli
Agnelli was appointed chairman of Juventus in 2010 and he has overseen one of the most successful periods in the club’s history during his 12 years at the helm.
Juventus had finished 7th prior to Agnelli’s arrival but they won Serie A in his second year with the club, embarking on a run of nine straight Scudetto titles.
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Agnelli is also credited with overseeing the club’s transition into a new stadium and restructuring their finances amid a recession in Italy and following Juventus’ infamous match fixing scandal.
Nedved, meanwhile, became Agnelli’s deputy in 2015 but both figures have been under immense pressure in recent times due to Juventus’ decline, which has seen the club finish fourth in the past two seasons.
Max Allegri’s side are currently third in Serie A and were knocked out of the Champions League after losing five of their six group games.