Agnelli family boost Juve coffers?

Saturday 14 October, 2006

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Juventus will be helped back to the top of Italian and European football with investment from the Agnelli family after 13 years of self-sufficiency.

The club is owned by the Turin-based FIAT patrons for more than 80 years, but has been running on its own cash flow since the mid-1990s, one of the only Italian sides to operate in this manner.


However, the demotion to Serie B as a result of the Calciopoli scandal has cost the Bianconeri approximately ￡87m and the last quarter ended with Juve in the red to the tune of ￡24.6m.


Robbed of the money from the Champions League and Serie A, the Turin giants need fresh funds to continue paying the top star salaries enjoyed in the Second Division by the likes of David Trezeguet, Mauro Camoranesi, Alessandro Del Piero and Gianluigi Buffon.


Sponsorship contracts are also under a process of renegotiation following the drop down into Serie B.


This morning’s ‘Gazzetta dello Sport’ suggests that the Agnelli family will dip into the coffers to begin the restructuring process, starting from the Stadio Delle Alpi.


Not only will the unpopular arena have its capacity reduced and the running track removed, but it’ll also turn into a Premiership-style business park with shops and convention centres that should eventually help finance Juventus.


Director Jean Claude Blanc will present his plan of action in a couple of months and has already warned it’ll be a long-term project aimed at taking Juve back to Scudetto and Champions League contenders within five years.


“We’ll indicate the financial necessities, then we shall see how to satisfy them. There are many ways of achieving this, not just with investments from the club owners, who also want to see Juventus back on top again,” he commented.


Another option is for the Agnelli family to sell more of its shares to Libyan company Lafico, who already own 7.5 per cent of the stock.