John Elkann, letter to shareholders: “Juventus denies any wrongdoing”

TURIN – “Juventus denies any wrongdoing”. In the letter to shareholders sent after the presentation of the financial statements, John Elkann, president of Exor, denies any charge by the ordinary judiciary and sports justice, underlining the complicated period due to the “growing internal and external difficulties that have put the club to the test”. The number one of Exor, which holds the majority of Juventus, also thanked the previous “Juventus Board of Directors for having acted responsibly and in particular the President Andrea Agnelli, who led Juventus in a phase full of changes and victories”.

The 18 meetings of the Juventus board of directors and the resignation

“In 2022 Juventus found itself facing growing internal and external difficulties, which put the club to the test – reads the letter -. It was the legal actions against the club that ended up occupying the company’s Board of Directors, which met 18 times during the year. The level of pressure has grown to such an extent that the Board of Directors has decided to resign in order to allow the company to protect itself most effectively against allegations ranging from alleged accounting irregularities to inaccurate disclosures to the financial markets mainly relating to the trading of players and salary agreements.

The animosity towards Juventus and the new president

The successes achieved in the history of Juventus, and the 27 world champions whom it has counted among its players, were, according to John Elkann, the cause of the animosity towards the Juventus club: “This level of sporting success, which brings great joy to our supporters, however also creates considerable animosity, which can emerge when the club is facing challenges”. Challenges that have led to a new presidency: “Juventus now has a new president, Gianluca Ferrero, and a new CEO, Maurizio Scanavino, who is also at the helm of our media company Gedi, where it is successfully carrying out a recovery plan. At Juventus, Gianluca and Maurizio will be aided by a new Board of Directors, and they have started well, ensuring that Juventus can meet the many current challenges, while protecting its reputation so that it can come back stronger both on and off the pitch. ”.

The renewal of the world of football

“Continental European football is failing to keep pace with the growing financial power of the Premier League, whose revenues are expected to triple those of Serie A by the end of the current season,” concluded the Exor chairman. Football is still in the transition phase towards a fully professional industry: it still lacks clarity as a whole, and this is creating financial and regulatory tensions. In the 2022 summer window, gross transfer spend in the Premier League equaled the total spend in Serie A, La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1 combined, and this situation continued into the winter window, with Chelsea alone accounting for spent more than the combined sum of all the clubs in these four leagues”.