Why has Juventus' board resigned?

Nedved and Agnelli have left Juve | Valerio Pennicino/GettyImages

Juventus have had it good for a long time in Serie A over the past decade or so, but now the club faces an era-defining process in the wake of mass resignations from the club’s board.

Investigations into player payments and transfers have been launched against the Turin outfit and a meeting earlier this week resulted in the likes of Andrea Agnelli and Pavel Nedved leaving their roles.

Having won nine Serie A titles in a row, Juve slumped to fourth in both 2020/21 and 2021/22 and have Massimiliano Allegri back in the dugout after brief spells for Maurizio Sarri and Andrea Pirlo.

So, how have Juve got themselves into this position?

What has happened at Juventus?

All current board members at Juventus have resigned from their roles following an extraordinary meeting which took place on Monday 28 November.

A statement from Juve reads: “In order to strengthen the Company’s management, the Board of Directors resolved to appoint Mr. Maurizio Scanavino as General Manager (‘Direttore Generale’). Mr. Scanavino’s curriculum vitae is attached to this press release.

“Furthermore, the Board of Directors’ members, given the centrality and the relevance of the pending legal and technical/accounting matters, considered in the best interest of the Company that Juventus provided itself with a new Board of Directors to address these matters.

“For this purpose, upon proposal of the Chairman Andrea Agnelli and in order to allow the decision on the renewal of the Board to be submitted to the Shareholders’ Meeting as soon as possible, all the members of the Board of Directors present at the meeting declared to forego their office.

“For the same reasons, each of the three directors with powers (the Chairman of the Board of Directors Andrea Agnelli, the Vice Chairman Pavel Nedved and the Chief Executive Officer Maurizio Arrivabene) has considered appropriate to forego the powers granted to them. The Board of Directors has, however, asked Maurizio Arrivabene to maintain the position of CEO.”

Why is the Juventus board resigning?

Prosecutors and Italy’s market regulator have been putting pressure on Juve since last year over the accounting of players’ salaries and club transfers.

Losses of €254m were recovered for 2021/22 and the meeting to discuss such issues resulted in mass resignations. CONSOB – the body that regulates activity on the Italy stock market – has asked for clarification over the club’s balance sheet.

Salary issues are also being looked into by the Turin prosecutor. Juve acknowledge their own “salary manoeuvres” from the seasons 2019/20 and 2020/21, when players signed agreements with the club to reduce their pay to cut costs during the bleak points of the coronavirus pandemic.

It has been alleged that statements were falsified to show balanced books. Authorities are now looking to prove Juve did not supposedly give up four months’ worth of payments.

Who was on Juventus’ board?

Andrea Agnelli was appointed chairman of the board of directors of Juventus in 2010, becoming the fourth member of the Agnelli family to run the club. He was initially seen positively, taking the team to a new stadium and balancing finances while enjoying on-field success with managers like Antonio Conte and Massimiliano Allegri.

However, in recent years Agnelli’s time in office has been investigated by Turin’s public prosecutor office over the management of tickets at Juventus Stadium and he was eventually fined €100,000 for his role in tickets being sold to ultras. He has also pushed hard for the European Super League alongside La Liga giants Real Madrid and Barcelona, further ostracising himself from Juve fans.

Juventus’ general on-pitch decline – shown by their Champions League group stage exit this season and current lacklustre squad – has also been blamed on Agnelli.

Pavel Nedved is a Bianconeri legend for his playing career in Turin. After starring for Lazio, he joined Juve and won two Serie A titles, also earning a silver medal in the 2002/03 Champions League. The former Czech Republic international would win the Ballon d’Or later that year. He moved into a boardroom role in 2015, becoming vice president that year.

The full list of resignations can be seen below.

• Andrea Agnelli (president)
• Pavel Nedved (vice president)
• Maurizio Arrivabene (CEO)
• Laurence Debroux (director)
• Massimo Della Ragione (independent director)
• Kathryn Fink (independent director)
• Daniela Marilungo (independent director)
• Francesco Roncaglio (director)
• Giorgio Tacchia (independent director)
• Suzanne Heywood (director)

What happens next?

Current CEO Maurizio Arrivabene will continue in his role until a new board is assembled – a meeting is scheduled for 18 January to determine that new board.

“The Board of Directors will continue its activities under a prorogatio regime until the Shareholders’ Meeting that has been convened for 18 January 2023 to appoint the new Board of Directors (except for Director Daniela Marilungo, who has resigned by means of a separate statement).

“Juventus will continue to collaborate and cooperate with the supervisory and industry Authorities, without prejudice to the defense of its rights in relation to the challenges raised against the Company’s financial statements and press releases by Consob and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.”

The investigations cast a shadow over players’ futures at Juve as the club may need to sell a few of their star assets to break even. However, whether they will be able to turn a profit on some squad players – with many either too old or permanently out of form – remains to be seen.