Rome, Nov. 28 (BUS): As if their offices raided by police investigating financial crimes weren’t serious enough for Juventus, Italy’s most successful soccer team is suffering devastating disruptions on the field as well.
For nine consecutive seasons, Juventus won the Italian title before losing it to Inter Milan as champions in May.
The team is now being booed by its fans as the rankings plummet, according to The Associated Press.
The sarcasm followed a 1-0 loss to Atlanta on Saturday, which left the 36-times Italian champions eighth after more than a third of the season.
It’s not about trying to reclaim the title now, but rather a scramble to avoid losing lucrative UEFA income with Atalanta leading by seven points into fourth and final place in Champions League qualification.
Although it came after a disappointing 4-0 collapse against Chelsea on Tuesday, at least a place in the Champions League last 16 has been secured this season for the month of February.
However, much uncertainty hangs over his leadership in the coming weeks after financial police searched the club’s offices in Turin and Milan on Friday to collect information regarding player transfers and agent dealings between 2019 and this year.
Prosecutors are investigating whether Juventus, which is listed on the Milan Stock Exchange, misled investors – in particular whether invoices for non-existent transactions were issued to prove income that could in turn be considered false accounting.
The complexity of the issue can center on challenges around determining the higher than expected value of the transfer a player is worth.
Juventus have confirmed that its president, Andrea Agnelli, is under investigation along with Vice President Pavel Nedved, a decorated former player, Chief Financial Officer Stefano Cerrato and other former employees.
Juventus’ Italian market regulator CONSOB is investigating player trading revenues which were 43.2 million in 2020-2021 and 172 million in the previous financial year.
The investigation represents another setback for Agnelli, who has brought back title-winning coach Massimiliano Allegri after Andrea Pirlo struggled in his only season in charge.
The end of the team’s supremacy in Serie A coincided with the downfall of Agnelli in football politics, whose tenure as president of the European Club Association ended in April with his ill-fated attempt to secede from UEFA and form a largely closed Super League. .
Aginelli, along with Barcelona and Real Madrid, is still holding out hope of launching a breakaway competition that locks up places for elites such as Juventus.
The reason the two-time European champions are so desperate for such a tournament has been reinforced by domestic struggles and defeats to teams like Atalanta, who debuted in the Champions League in 2019.
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