Pavel Nedved and Andrea Agnelli have both commented on their Juventus exits during the club’s recent shareholder meeting.
Both director (Nedved) and president (Agnelli) have now left the club following accusations that, during their tenure, the club falsified their financial records.
Here’s what both had to say in the final speeches at the club:
“Hello everyone, I haven’t frequently spoken in this assembly, but I want to thank you all. This is the final day of a path that lasted 20 years. I was a young player and I’ve become a middle-aged director. Every moment of my life at Juventus deserves gratitude. When I arrived in 2001, I could understand this club thanks to the directors and teammates. It was an honour to represent it on and off the pitch.
“I had just retired when I was asked to enter the board of directors. I learned a lot in the first few years, I learned something every day until I became vice president, a role that has made me really proud
“It was an honour, made of work, passion, meetings, words and passion. I would have never made it without passion. From day 1 at the Stadio Comunale until today, in this room. Thank you.
“Thank you, President [Agnelli] for our friendship that goes beyond work. I mostly think of games during which we had fun and argued, cementing our rapport, which was crucial for our work. I know how much you love Juventus and all the sacrifices you’ve made. You were a leader for all of us, able to guide this club. It was an honour to be by your side. Thank you for everything, President.”
“First of all, I want to remember to captains of Juventus who we recently lost, Castano and Vialli. I ask you to observe a minute’s silence. I can’t hide my emotion, a chapter of Juventus’ history ends today.
“We’ve seen transitions at Chelsea, Milan, Newcastle, Atalanta and Leeds. Consortiums like Chelsea, RedBird’s Milan, PIF’s Newcastle and Pagliuca for Atalanta. We are witnessing an expanding phenomenon such as multi properties. CityGroup, RedBull, RedBird, 777.
“We have no certain data, but Goldman&Sachs is investing €1bn in football, there is an interest in the sector. To me, Governors didn’t provide a suitable answer, they haven’t evolved and don’t see the difference between game and business.
“Differences are becoming more and more evident. As a UEFA member and ECA President, the analysis was clear. The system was not sustainable, and clubs were the only ones taking risks. There was disaffection from fans and we’ve often been criticised for highlighting this, which is becoming clear also to those managing the ‘middle’ level.
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“Our proposal was to create an ecosystem for the leading European leagues to increase stability, keeping a balance between national and European competitions.
“Serie A has had only 68 teams since it became a unique league almost 100 years ago. It’s a system open to everyone based on sporting competitiveness. UEFA and ECA proposed it in 2019, then I don’t need to remember what happened. There was COVID and I don’t want to touch that part,” he continued.
“If I wanted to keep my privileged position as ECA President, I wouldn’t have taken certain decisions in 2021. European football needs structural changes otherwise, we will decline, favouring the Premier League, which will dominate. The current regulators do not want to hear about football’s problems. They are in a monopoly position and I hope the European Court will recognise UEFA’s dominant position.”
