Andrea Agnelli: "Non escludo un ritorno alla Juve. CR7? Senza pandemia sarebbe stata altra storia"

[Vs News 5.605]

Superlega? Non ho puntato una pistola alla testa di nessuno. Hanno firmato tutti liberamente. Alcuni erano più coscienti. Ma hanno firmato tutti liberamente. È stata una buona mossa. Datemi Ronaldo e lasciatemelo schierare senza pandemia, sarebbe un'altra storia. Juve? Resto convinto che tutto quello che abbiamo fatto, lo abbiamo fatto secondo le regole, secondo gli standard finanziari. Da quando si è trasformato da gioco in business, [il calcio] non ha evoluto la sua governance per governare il business. È giusto dire che la maggior parte dei club perde soldi. Sì? O siamo tutti incompetenti oppure il sistema ha qualche carenza. Ritorno alla Juve? Non lo escludo". 

 

Tuttojuve.com 

[TucaTuca 385]

Grande Andrea

[Icarius 6.045]

Il ritorno del re... 

[Gianlu263 1.387]

Sempre pensato anch'io

[davjuve 15.767]

Vabbe', lo sappiamo tutti. Su Ronaldo ci metterei una pietra sopra, la fase critica post l'abbiamo superata.

[ArturoFC93 50.051]

Ma decide lui se tornare o no?  

[marko77 5.141]

Uno con quel cognome quanto può rimanere lontano dalla Juventus?

[Shingo Tamai 5.047]

Vero al 100% che i problemi sono nati a causa di quello schifo di pandemia.

[gobbo22 245]

Nel bene ( molto ) e nel male per sempre il mio Presidente!!!!

[jimihe 110]

Grande Presidente!

[tv in bianco e nero 2.561]

tornerai, lo so, ritornerai..

[Bill Carson 354]

15 minuti fa, ArturoFCML93 ha scritto:

Ma decide lui se tornare o no?  

assolutamente sì e ci mancherebbe altro non fosse così. Daje Pres!!!

[Icarius 6.045]

15 minuti fa, marko77 ha scritto:

Uno con quel cognome quanto può rimanere lontano dalla Juventus?

Uno che ha quel cognome è lui stesso la Juventus.

[Leppe 3.345]

... lo penso anche io Presidente !

[Mark92 3.777]

al netto di come ce l'abbiano fatta sporca, non ho ancora capito che cabolo vi eravate messi in testa te e paratici negli utimi 2-3 anni

 

sei comunque e rimarrai per sempre il mio unico presidente

[LE6END 10.394]

Sta casa aspetta a te

 

Questo è l'articolo completo del Financial Times:

 

Quoto

Andrea Agnelli on Juventus and the Super League: ‘My conscience is super clear’

 

Dressed in a grey suit and dark knitted tie, Andrea Agnelli stands to greet me across a table clad in white linen. He offers a hand, fingers pointed up. We adopt the grip of arm wrestlers, the handshake of sportsmen before a big match.

Agnelli is a scion of the Italian industrialists who founded Fiat and invested in Ferrari. When I refer to them as a “clan”, Agnelli laughs and says Sergio Marchionne, the late chief executive of the car companies, referred to the family as “the zoo”.

The 48-year-old is the fourth of his name — after his grandfather, uncle and father — to take possession of a prized heirloom: Juventus, Italy’s most successful football club. Over his 12-year tenure as president of the Turin-based side, the “Old Lady” won a record nine Serie A Italian league titles in a row, and twice reached the final of the Champions League, Europe’s premier club tournament. Agnelli was also among the sport’s power brokers as chair of the European Club Association, the body that represents the continent’s biggest teams.

Then came the fall. In April 2021, he joined the European Super League, a breakaway competition that threatened to upend the structure of the game. Twelve elite sides, including England’s Manchester United and Spain’s Barcelona, agreed to join a tournament that would replace the Champions League. Critics saw the project as an effort to protect the assets of super-wealthy owners, ending the promotion and relegation system that allows even the smallest side to scale the sport’s pyramid.

The plan collapsed within 48 hours, under protest from fans, pundits, players and politicians. Agnelli says it is a “mystery” why the rebels didn’t hold firm after signing a 200-page contract to join. “I didn’t put a gun to the head of anybody,” he says. “They all signed freely. Some more with ‘Fomo’. Some were more conscious. But they all signed freely.” An image painted on a Roman street of Agnelli piercing a ball with a dagger went viral in the aftermath; the man who knifed the people’s game.

The collapse of his career came the following year. An accounting scandal at Juventus led him to step down as club president, as well as resign from the boards of Exor and Stellantis, the modern incarnations of the Agnelli dynasty’s automotive empire. (He has received a multiyear ban from holding positions in football and is involved in ongoing criminal proceedings for alleged market manipulation and false accounting, which he is contesting.)

During the past year, Agnelli says he sought a “white page”. He married for the second time and relocated with the youngest three of his five children to Amsterdam. So on a damp January day, I meet Agnelli at Toscanini, an Italian restaurant in the Dutch capital’s hip Jordaan district, a place he visits to savour home comforts.

What brought him to the Netherlands? The advantageous tax regime? Or to escape the wiretaps of Italian prosecutors who snooped on his communications in order to build their case? Amsterdam is simply among the most “vibrant cities in Europe”, he argues.

But Agnelli now senses “a continuation of my professional story”. Last month, the European Court of Justice found that Uefa and Fifa, football’s European and global governing bodies, had acted unlawfully when they threatened to sanction Super League clubs and their players.

After the ruling, Agnelli ended a long silence on X, formerly Twitter, to post lyrics from U2’s “Where The Streets Have No Name”, including the line “I wanna tear down the walls that hold me inside”. The song represents “a state of mind, a state of place”, he says.

Subtext is key to understanding Agnelli. His current WhatsApp status, seen only by those who have his phone number, is a quote from Martin Luther King Jr: “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

After the initial rush of commiserations, did people abandon him? “There are some disappointments, but it’s fair,” Agnelli says. “I have to transform it into one of the best learning opportunities I’ve ever had.”

Time to order. Agnelli suggests sharing cicchetti, slices of bread topped with Gorgonzola and pear, and more garnished with butter and anchovies. After that, Agnelli chooses a salad followed by spaghetti alle vongole. I select ravioli and grilled fish. Agnelli says my pasta choice is “interesting”. Is he tempted? “It’s cheese and mushroom, and I want to have clams,” he says. “All due respect, but I care what ends up in the mouth.”

The cicchetti arrive quickly. “Oh my god,” he exclaims when I take snaps of the food. “It’s like going to lunch with my wife. Are you putting that on Instagram?” I assure him the shots are simply to remember what we’ve eaten.

My gauche habits contrast with his aristocratic lineage. Agnelli’s uncle Gianni was the most renowned of his forebears, a playboy who befriended Henry Kissinger and steered Fiat through industrial strife in the 1970s; a style icon too, Gianni was known for wearing expensive watches over his shirt cuffs.

I find myself distracted by his nephew’s wrists. On Agnelli’s right one is a silver Rolex that partially covers a tattoo. Under his jacket, the shirt cuffs are left unbuttoned. A writer who knows Agnelli suggests this is not a fashion statement, merely that he “is a bit Bullingdon Club scruffy”.

That tracks. Agnelli’s Italian accent has a posh English twang, the product of studying at an Oxford private school before returning to his homeland. Agnelli’s life was further shaped by family tragedies: relatives have died in plane accidents, car crashes and by suicide. His elder brother Giovanni was anointed the heir to run Fiat, but died aged just 33 from cancer.

“When my brother passed away in ’97, I [went] to my father’s room. And he says, ‘This means more responsibility for you.’ I don’t reply and he stops talking. It’s a phrase that always stuck in my mind.”

The starters arrive. Agnelli was right. It’s a bit much. The ravioli is topped off with an overpowering butter sauce. A svelte Agnelli stabs at his salad.

Beyond guaranteeing heavyweight clashes, the Super League had other attractions, such as cost caps to prevent runaway spending on players. “This was an answer to the problems that football has had and still has — financial instability, financial sustainability, polarisation,” he says.

Agnelli has come in for some of the harshest criticism over the breakaway, due to his perceived betrayal. On the April weekend that the Super League was announced, Uefa president Aleksander Čeferin — godfather to Agnelli’s youngest child — called to ask the Italian about the project. “[Agnelli] said these are only rumours and then he said I’ll call you in one hour,” Čeferin has said. “He turned off his phone...the fact is I’ve never seen a person lie so many times, so persistently.”

Why call the Super League a rumour, I ask? Why turn off his phone? Agnelli says he was bound by non-disclosure agreements at the time. But now he can explain his version of events.

Others had discussed launching alternative competitions, he says. One project, known as “Bohr”, involved Nasser Al-Khelaifi, president of Paris Saint-Germain, the Qatar-owned French club. “I remember flying to Paris in the middle of Covid,” says Agnelli. “Nobody around. Paris deserted. Me and Nasser have conversations about [a new tournament], saying we need change, because we don’t change, we’re dead.” (A spokesperson for Al-Khelaifi said “he was open to reforming competitions but always within Uefa’s framework”.)

In November 2020, Agnelli was instead approached by Real Madrid president Florentino Pérez to join the Super League. Months of secret negotiations led to a critical deadline of April 19 2021. Uefa and the ECA were due to meet in the Swiss town of Montreux the next day to agree changes to the Champions League that would ensure more money-spinning ties between big teams. Lawyers advised the Super League clubs that if they signed up to Uefa’s reforms, their project would be halted for many months.

Agnelli was prepared to go along with either plan: Uefa’s Champions League reforms, which he helped to design as the ECA’s head, or the rebels who wanted to own their tournament outright.

“I have my bag with my Uefa suit in the car,” says Agnelli of that fateful Sunday. “What happens? I’m bombarded [with calls]. ‘Have they signed? Is something happening?’ I was like, you know what? I’ll just chill, switch my phone off...[the next day] either I drive to Montreux because nothing has happened. Or manage the launch of [the Super League]. So was I in a very difficult position? Yes. But that’s where I was.”

By midnight, 12 clubs had signed up. Agnelli never donned his Uefa suit again. He resigned as head of the ECA, replaced by Al-Khelaifi, who was lauded for rejecting the Super League. Under severe attack by Uefa and others, the project fell apart, while the expansion of the Champions League was pushed through.

I suggest Agnelli’s mistake was to make matters personal with Čeferin. “I didn’t,” he says. You did: he’s godfather to your child. “So what?” That’s a personal thing to do. “I used to speak to Alex three times a day. I had a very strong connection.”

How does Agnelli feel about being called a liar? He snaps: “They are envious.” Of what? “I don’t know. The fact that I have an objective and I try and reach it. I don’t compromise.” Is there any way of repairing the relationship with Čeferin? Agnelli pauses. “My feeling is time is a gentleman. And things will probably, hopefully, be right at one time. If not, again, my conscience is super clear.”

Our mains arrive. Agnelli is ravenous. The salad was not enough. “Let’s take a break and eat,” he says. I joke that we should talk with our mouths full. He ignores the suggestion. Agnelli delicately twirls spaghetti around a fork, as I cut through my fish steak. For a couple of minutes, silence descends.

In 2018, Juventus hosted Real Madrid in the Champions League, but were knocked out after rival striker Cristiano Ronaldo scored an overhead kick so stupendous that the Turin crowd stood to applaud. Months later, Agnelli acquired Ronaldo — then arguably the world’s best player — in a deal worth well over €200mn in wages and the transfer fee.

The Portuguese star scored a hatful of goals for Juventus, but failed to win the Champions League before leaving in 2021. According to Deloitte, the percentage of the club’s revenue spent on wages rose from 66 per cent in 2018 to 84 per cent in 2022.

In retrospect, was signing Ronaldo an error? “It was a good move,” Agnelli insists. “Give me Ronaldo and let me deploy him without a pandemic, it’s a different story.”

He may have a point. Coronavirus closed stadiums and postponed matches, leading to billions of euros in lost revenues across the continent’s teams. But Juventus’s response to the cash crunch is at the heart of the Plusvalenza (capital gains) scandal that cost him his job and continues to hang over his life.

Refusing to discuss the details of the ongoing legal case against him and former club executives, Agnelli says: “I remain convinced that everything we’ve done, we’ve done it by the book, according to the financial standards...I am super easy.”

At issue is an accounting trick. One example is a player swap in 2020, through which Juventus sold Bosnian midfielder Miralem Pjanić to Barcelona for a transfer fee of €60mn, while the Spanish side sold Brazilian midfielder Arthur Melo to Juventus for €72mn.

The accusation is that such sums were hugely inflated, with prices invented for the purpose of cleaning up the clubs’ books. The Italian team counted the selling price of €60mn as upfront income, while spreading the purchase cost across the multiple years of Melo’s playing contract. Little actual money changed hands. Juventus paid just €12mn, the difference between the prices of the two footballers.

Agnelli’s stance is that assessing the true value of players is inherently subjective. In any market, both sides have to agree a price. He told club executives: “You have assets that you can move, do it. If it is legal, what’s my issue?”

The issue is Juventus used these swaps more systematically than most. When the FIGC, the Italian football federation, raised concerns about 62 player transfers involving Italian clubs in 2021, 42 involved Juventus. Reports suggest that the club made €282mn in capital gains from allegedly inflated transfer fees. As sporting punishment, the club was hit by fines and points deductions, but has denied criminal wrongdoing.

The affair exposes how financial rot has spread across the sport. “Since it transformed from a game into a business, [football] hasn’t evolved its governance to governing the business,” argues Agnelli. “It’s fair to say the majority of clubs lose money. Yes? Either we’re all incompetent or the system has some shortfalls.”

Agnelli declines dessert. “I don’t have a sweet tooth; ask my wife,” he says. We settle instead on single shots of espresso.

Is he contemplating an eventual return to Juventus and the family enterprises? Agnelli will not rule it out. For now he is busy with other concerns: his own financial holding company, Lamse; chairing a foundation dedicated to cancer research; a new sports tech venture he is seeking to get off the ground.

But old passions are stirring. A22, the Madrid-based company behind the Super League project, has released a new proposal: a bigger competition featuring 64 men’s teams split across three divisions, as well 32 women’s teams split across two tiers. Matches will be screened for free through a “state of the art digital streaming platform”. How any of this is paid for remains unclear.

Despite Agnelli saying 50 to 60 clubs are holding talks over the new plans, none have publicly declared their interest. Of the original Super League clubs, only Real Madrid and Barcelona remain committed. Even Juventus, without Agnelli at the helm, have backed off.

“Give us time to work,” he says. “It’s not like things happen as magic.” When describing the vision, Agnelli lapses into corporate speak: “We find ourselves in a b2b b2c situation...We need to find the clubs, which is the [business to business] part, because if we don’t have the clubs to participate within the competition, we can’t reach the c, the consumers.”

It is the talk of consumers rather than fans, businesses rather than clubs, that causes anger. In November, supporters of Germany’s Borussia Dortmund hoisted a giant banner picturing Agnelli alongside PSG’s Al-Khelaifi and Fifa president Gianni Infantino under the words: “You don’t care about the sport — all you care about is money.”

Espressos downed, I ask if Agnelli is bothered by such notoriety? “It’s nice”, he says, flashing a mischievous smile. Agnelli pulls out his phone. “I found new graffiti.” On the screen is a Photoshopped version of the Rome mural, this time with his dagger piercing Uefa’s badge. The subtext is clear. Then he offers his hand, fingers pointed up. We share the handshake of players after the final whistle is blown.

C'è anche la spesa del ristorante:

 

[Tricarico10 6.352]

https://www.ilbianconero.com/a/agnelli-torna-parlare-juve-e-superlega-ho-la-coscienza-a-posto-15608

Qui c'e tutto in Italiano - che fenomeno il nostro presidente, spero che ritorno presto  

[andy68 1.573]

Con Ronaldo siamo stati sfortunati causa il covid (limitando il discorso al nostro contesto). E' stato come quelli che hanno ottenuto un prestito da una banca, affittato le mura, ristrutturato il tutto, acquistato il materiale per realizzare un sogno: aprire un ristorante. Peccato che è novembre 2019 e da lì a pochissimo tempo tutto chiuso. Non è stato un investimento sbagliato, è stata sfiga.

[Marco Massa 533]

magari

[mattjuve92 4.889]

Diciamo che col senno di poi, le ultime stagioni sarebbero divuto essere riviste ma chi non fa non sbaglia mai...per il resto è stato un grande e vincente presidente... il futuro chissà vedremo.. con quel cognome la juve non è mai lontana 

[andreabeppeprato82 3.400]

45 minuti fa, marko77 ha scritto:

Uno con quel cognome quanto può rimanere lontano dalla Juventus?

Fin quando Ceferino&C saranno in giro

[AngriJuve 6.207]

Ad Andrea Agnelli sarà accostata una delle Juventus più leggendarie di sempre. Quella dei 9 scudetti consecutivi. Uno dei più grandi dirigenti di questa società

[alex88 757]

Tutt'ora lo odio calcisticamente parlando. 

Non c'è cosa peggiore, secondo il mio modestissimo punto di vista, di quando una persona estremamente capace ( e l'aveva ampiamente dimostrato) rovina tutto e dico tutto per turbe comportamentali e smanie proprie. 

Non dimentico tutti i guai diretti ed indiretti in cui ci ha cacciato lui e il suo amico paratici. 

Ma non dimentico nemmeno il tanto tanto buono che ha fatto, sarei quindi ben contento di un suo ritorno.. Magari ammettendo giusto quel paio di errori da lui commessi.. 

 

[andreabeppeprato82 3.400]

59 minuti fa, Vs News ha scritto:

Datemi Ronaldo e lasciatemelo schierare senza pandemia, sarebbe un'altra storia

Sarebbe stata semplicemente un'agonia un pò più lenta..117Ml di cartellino 31Ml di euro netti di stipendio trascurando il resto della rosa per poterlo mantenere..una follia pura e semplice.

[ciumbia 4.356]

3 minuti fa, alex88 ha scritto:

Tutt'ora lo odio calcisticamente parlando. 

Non c'è cosa peggiore, secondo il mio modestissimo punto di vista, di quando una persona estremamente capace ( e l'aveva ampiamente dimostrato) rovina tutto e dico tutto per turbe comportamentali e smanie proprie. 

Non dimentico tutti i guai diretti ed indiretti in cui ci ha cacciato lui e il suo amico paratici. 

Ma non dimentico nemmeno il tanto tanto buono che ha fatto, sarei quindi ben contento di un suo ritorno.. Magari ammettendo giusto quel paio di errori da lui commessi.. 

 

senza il covid non ci sarebbe stata la carta ronaldo, la manovra stipendi e tutto il resto su cui siamo stati affossati dalle procure e non si sarebbe perso l'enorme investimento per ronaldo ma ci sarebbe stato un ritorno economico e di risultati