Amidst the latest false accounting accusations (otherwise known as the Prisma investigation), fans and observers are trying to understand how Juventus found themselves in this dire situation at the first place.
The allegations are based on overestimated transfer fees reported by the club in the last few years, especially in exchange deals.
The intention was to balance the books by adding capital gains thanks to the overestimated transfer fees (Arthur Melo being reported as a 72 million euros purchase is a prime example).
But the question that poses itself is why did the club which was widely considered as a financial module in Italian football become in shambles?
Surely the Covid-19 outbreak left some devastating effects on the financial aspect, but at Juventus, the problem probably goes beyond it.
According to Tuttosport via Calciomercato, purchasing Cristiano Ronaldo back in the summer of 2018 was the great mistake that instigated the drown.
The Portuguese cost the club more than 100 million euros in terms of transfer fees, and his astronomical gross wages reached 57 million euros per season.
While the Bianconeri were betting on European success to lift the club’s status, the move ended up backfiring, with the team only reaching the Quarter Finals once in the last three seasons.
Therefore, the management found itself in the red in terms of the balance sheet, and potentially had to rely on some dodgy affairs to make up for it.
Juve FC say
The report describes the Ronaldo affair as the ultimate sin. Perhaps, it’s slightly exaggerated, but a combination of bad planning and unfortunate circumstances wrecked the longest winning dynasty in Italian football history.
No surprise there.
Everything went south fron the summer we signed Ronaldo.
Sportingwise we became less succesful and economicly we are now in big problems (overpaying Ronaldo).
Yes, we never needed Ronaldo in the first place let alone spend 100M euros on a single player well into their 30s…. We could have got someone like Haaland with that money! With money to spare. Damn u Paratici! Getting rid of him was the first step to recovery
I have been following football all my life, when I heard that Juventus bought C. Ronaldo was surprised and I never saw it as a smart move, because I know the financial pressure that comes with having C. Ronaldo. That kind of financial pressure is something Juventus finance can’t carry. I am not surprised that it ended like this for Juventus, I hope they learn from the mistake.