Italian finance authorities raided Juve’s offices in Turin and Milan, seeking papers relating to player moves between 2019 and 2021. Juventus is Italy’s most successful club, winning 36 Serie A titles. Juve is listed on Milan’s stock exchange and its largest shareholder is Exor.
Anna Maria Loreto, a Turin prosecutor, revealed on Friday evening that the investigation is trying to find out whether senior Juventus management gave false communications to investors, as well as issuing invoices for non-existent transactions.
“Several transfer operations of professional players and the services rendered by some agents involved in the related intermediation are under consideration,” Loreto said through a statement.
In September, Juventus said that Italian market regulator CONSOB was looking into revenue received from player trading. Italy’s Federal Prosecutor last month opened an investigation into a number of player transfers in Serie A.
According to Italian media, six Juventus directors are under investigation, including chairman Andrea Agnelli, vice-chairman and former player Pavel Nedved and former sporting director Fabio Paratici, who is now a Tottenham Hotspur director.
The ANSA news agency claimed on Saturday morning that prosecutors were also looking into the club’s dealings with Cristiano Ronaldo, who was bought from Real Madrid for around $120 million in 2018 and fled to Manchester United in August.
Juve was badly hit by the pandemic
Juventus couldn’t sign any big names in the summer and also lost Cristiano Ronaldo because of the club’s complicated financial situation. Juve recorded important losses during the pandemic, with on-pitch results not helping either. Juve only qualified for the Champions League on the last day of the previous season, having missed out on the Serie A title for the first time in 10 years. They only triumphed in the Italian Cup, a minor consolation for their Champions League and Serie A failings.
Juventus are also struggling this season, despite naming highly successful Max Allegri as their manager to replace Andrea Pirlo. Juve sit eight in the Serie A table, with 21 points from 13 games, 11 behind joint leaders Napoli and AC Milan.
Juventus host fourth-placed Atalanta in a vital clash on Saturday. The bookies have them at +105 to win the game, with Atalanta at +240 and a draw at +260.