Juventus transfers probed months before Fabio Paratici’s Tottenham appointment

Juventus’ transfer activities were under investigation by Italian financial authorities four months before Tottenham signed the club’s sporting director Fabio Paratici.

CONSOB – the body which regulates the Italian stock exchange – requested more detailed information on Juve’s transfer income in February 2021. In June, Tottenham announced that they had hired Paratici as their chief football officer.

As sporting director, Paratici played a key role in shaping Juventus’ policy on buying and selling players. Last month, the 50-year-old was handed a 30-month ban by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after concluding a lengthy investigation into allegations of false accounting at Juventus. The club have also amassed 15 points in Serie A this season.

CONSOB’s request to Juventus for information on their transfer activities – which was made on February 11, 2021 – does not appear to have been made public at the time. Even so, Tottenham could now question whether they did enough due diligence on Paratici before appointing him.

Asked by Athleticism whether they were aware of the CONSOB request before signing Paratici, Tottenham declined to comment, citing ongoing legal proceedings. It’s unclear whether Paratici knew about the investigation when he joined Spurs.

Paratici’s activities were a key part of FIGC’s case against Juventus, with prosecutors from the governing body pointing to the existence of a so-called ‘black book’ of allegations about him made by Federico Cherubini, director of football at Juve.

In that “black book” – actually a sheet of paper found by prosecutors during a search of Juventus premises – Cherubini listed grievances that included Paratici paying players’ chances and making “excessive use of plusvalenze artificial”, an accounting term meaning the capital gains accrued from player exchange agreements.

Asked by RAI television journalists to comment on the charges brought against him by prosecutors, Paratici said: “Everyone has their own point of view, of course, but as you say, now it’s really one-sided. There is someone on offense and someone else who can only defend and cannot cross the halfway line.

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