Juventus’ owners have publicly turned down a €1 billion (nearly $1.2 billion) buyout offer from cryptocurrency firm Tether, ensuring that the most successful club in Serie A history remains under the Agnelli family’s control.
In a video message posted on Juventus’ official website, John Elkann, chief executive of Exor, the Agnelli family’s holding company, said: “Juventus, our history and our values are not for sale.”
Elkann, the grandson of Fiat tycoon Giovanni “Gianni” Agnelli, added: “Juve has been part of my family for 102 years. Over the course of a century, four generations have emboldened it, made it strong, taken care of it in tough times, and celebrated it in the many festive moments. We continue to support our squad and are looking toward the future in order to build a winning Juve.”
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Juventus last won Serie A during their nine-title run from 2012 to 2020. The club replaced Igor Tudor with Luciano Spalletti last month after a challenging start to the season.
Spalletti praised the owners’ stance, saying: “It’s a pleasure once again to feel the strength and passion of John Elkann and his family for this club. It’s clear that it’s up to us to give substance in exchange for this passion, honoring the past and building a future at the same level, or even better, as John Elkann himself told us when he came to visit us.”
The club’s former president Andrea Agnelli and the entire board resigned in 2022 amid a false accounting inquiry.
While many of Italy’s top clubs, including AC Milan, Inter Milan, and Roma, are owned by foreign investors, Juventus and defending Serie A champions Napoli, owned by Italian film producer Aurelio De Laurentiis, remain largely Italian-owned.
Exor reinforced its position in a statement: “Exor reaffirms its previous, consistent statements that it has no intention of selling any of its shares in Juventus to a third party, including but not restricted to El Salvador-based Tether.”
The holding company added: “Juventus is a storied and successful club, of which Exor and the Agnelli family are the stable and proud shareholders for over a century, and they remain fully committed to the club, supporting its new management team in the execution of a clear strategy to deliver strong results both on and off the field.”
