Thomas Fruits |
Rome (EFE) At stake a minimum of twenty million. Its shares on the stock market fell almost 12%. The sponsors do not take their eyes off. The long-term sports project falters.
Last Friday, when the Italian Federal Court of Appeal partially accepted the appeal of the Italian Football Federation Prosecutor’s Office (FIGC) and the sentence to remove fifteen points in Serie A from Juventus was made public and effective, a dispute broke out. earthquake in Turin. Specifically, in the offices of the new board of directors of the black and white club after the recent resignation of Andrea Agnelli and his board.
And it is that the new dome has to deal with too many open fronts. To start with a club that has registered in 2022 the biggest losses in its history after the first season in eleven years without lifting a title: a total of 254.3 million euros; and, second, with the defense of the entity in the ‘Case Plusvalías’ -for which it has been penalized with 15 points- and the accusation of tax fraud that could entail new sporting and economic sanctions, all within the framework of the well-known as ‘Prism Research’.
Tenth with 23 points, ‘Juve’ is now fourteen away from the fourth position occupied by Inter, the last place that claims to participate in the Champions League and, with it, all the income from UEFA. The season of the ‘Vecchia Signora’ has become almost an act of faith.
But, what does it mean to stay out of the Champions League?
Last season, the team led by Massimiliano Allegri fell in the round of 16 against Villarreal. Until then, adding the historical ranking, the UEFA coefficient, the financial prizes for each victory or tie and the classification to the round of 16, ‘Juve’ had raised almost 80 million euros, which if they had reached the quarterfinals would have become in almost 90 million euros.
This year, the people of Turin, plunged into one of the biggest gaming and results crises in their history, fell in the group stage and did not add as much amount last season, which was around twenty million euros, which already represented a significant loss compared to last year, but that could come to nothing if the club fails to enter the top seven, at least to compete in the Conference League or Europa League.
The sports project falters
And it is that not entering the Champions League implies another series of problems beyond that minimum of twenty million euros. They are less tangible consequences for now but just as important for the economic sustainability of the club.
To begin with, his UEFA coefficient and his historical ranking will decrease, so the next time he classifies again -always taking into account that he does not achieve it this season- he will do so receiving less income than a few years ago.
Not participating in competitions during the week implies that the stadium is less profitable and, therefore, there is a drop in income by not receiving the amount of tickets and drinks that are made in the sports facility.
In addition, many top-level players, such as the Serbian Dusan Vlahovic or the Italian Federico Chiesa, both desired by big clubs, could consider their continuity in the club if they do not play this type of competition.
Sponsors don’t take their eyes off
In this sense, the sponsors could also take a step back and delve into the economic carnage of a Juventus without European competitions that has taken advantage of the past decade of absolute dominance to attract the best ‘calcio’ contracts.
The two main sponsors of ‘Juve’ are Adidas and Jeep. The sports brand renewed its agreement with the squad in 2018 until 2027 for 408 million euros, which means 51 million per season for the Juventine coffers.
The problem lies with the automobile company, with which they have had a contractual relationship since 2011-12, just the season in which the black and white reign began in Italy. The latest contract renewal, which means 45 million euros per season for Juventus, has an expiration date as soon as the next campaign, 2023-24, ends, so ‘Juve’ could be left without the ‘sponsor’ emblem of his golden age or, at least, see his income reduced with a contract signed at a low price.
Stock market crash, the first visible consequence
The first tangible economic consequence of the sports sanction, however, occurred on the Milan Stock Exchange.
‘Juve’ is listed as a company on the stock market and had problems at the beginning of this week. According to the table of values, the shares suffered a theoretical fall of almost 12% that was finally lowered to 10% at the opening of the first hour on Monday, with a price per share of 0.29 euros, the lowest of the year.
Over the days, the share price has been recovering its average value and, at the moment, it stands at 0.306 euros, 0.07% below its average value before the sanction.
The remedy, in the Europa League
The entire judicial process related to ‘Juve’ has not finished. In fact, it has hardly even started. The word of the Sports Guarantee College of the Italian Olympic Committee is missing, the third and last degree of Italian sports justice, the body to which the ‘bianconeri’ have appealed the sanction.
In addition, the preliminary hearing will begin on March 27 in the framework of the ‘Prism Investigation’. In less than two months, therefore, the judicial process that the Turin Prosecutor’s Office requested on December 1 against the former president Andrea Agnelli and the entire Juventus board of directors who resigned at the end of November due to the aforementioned tax investigations into the club and that could have greater consequences.
However, even if it is complicated, not all the routes would be exhausted to access the Champions League and save the season. Bearing in mind that getting into the top four seems practically impossible, the possibility of the Europa League would remain in the offing, the winner of which ensures a direct place in the group stage of the next edition.
