After recent improved weeks, the Champions League round of 16 exit was a bitter setback for Juventus – also from a financial perspective.
As reported by the “Gazzetta dello Sport” after the 0:3 neck blow in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16 against outsiders Villarreal, Juventus are facing a further financial cut of around 200 million euros after the exit.
And that after the Bianconeri around president Andrea Agnelli or even vice-president Pavel Nedved have already officially announced a loss of almost 210 million euros in 2020/21.
It is clear that the third elimination from the last 16 in a row has hit the Italian record champions hard – and makes the recent successful weeks with 14 Serie A games in a row without defeat pale into insignificance. Instead, the seriousness of the situation has returned, especially as Juve’s share price has also plummeted by almost ten per cent.
Bonucci apologises
The traditional club is not supposed to be in too much financial trouble, however, and a recent injection of 400 million euros from the Agnelli family (Fiat Group) will help against this, according to the newspaper. The goal of reaching the break-even point in the next few years has been set back by the early exit from the top flight. Player sales will probably be necessary in the summer – and further exciting questions arise: Can and do the Turin side even want to extend the contract with Paulo Dybala in the end? And who can be brought in, after they have already invested heavily (up to 80 million euros) in striker Dusan Vlahovic in the winter?
Meanwhile, disappointed fans of the Old Lady are venting their frustration with coach Massimiliano Allegri on Twitter and other social networks. Hashtags regarding former coaches Andrea Pirlo and Maurizio Sarri, neither of whom lasted or were allowed to last long in charge, can also be found in the threats.
Leading player Leonardo Bonucci, who like his congenial partner Giorgio Chiellini has been injured or not fully fit for some time and did not play at all on Wednesday evening, has addressed the supporters directly in this regard. He apologised on Instagram: “Watching games like this from outside makes me understand the disappointment of our fans. Apologies are the only thing that is appropriate now. But we must now all transform this frustration into anger, with which we will tackle our remaining goals in the coming games.” These are: to finish at least fourth in the league and, on top of that, to defend the Coppa Italia title (second leg still to come after 1-0 win over Florence).
