Tuesday brought the somewhat expected news that Damien Comolli, who has only been Juventus’ general manager since early June, has taken on a new and much more prominent role in Turin after being promoted to be the club’s new chief executive officer.
With the promotion, Comolli will now have a footprint in just about every aspect of the club, most notably both on the sporting and financial side of the equation. As Juventus’ official announcement described it, Comolli’s promotion to CEO comes “with
the simultaneous termination of his previous position as General Manager, granting him executive powers substantially in continuity with the previous structure.”
Following the news of his promotion, Comolli met with members of the Italian media at the Allianz Stadium to discuss the current happenings at the club, with the looming January transfer window and the status of the highest-paid player in Serie A and his soon-to-be expiring contract.
On potential January transfer activity, Comolli said the following:
“We have some constraints, Financial Fair Play, and we have to be careful. We received a letter from the controlling body. What we do in January will be very difficult and closely monitored. We don’t have any specific plans. We’ll look around, but nothing significant.”
That is not necessarily a surprise because, as Comolli said, Juventus are currently under investigation for a potential FFP violation that was revealed in the club’s financial statements from the 2024-25 fiscal year last month. Expecting another arrival like what happened last January in the form of Randal Kolo Muani on a high-priced loan for the remaindering of the season to actually happen doesn’t seem very likely.
Of course, with an FFP decision from UEFA looming and Champions League football for next season looking like it will be an absolute fight and a top four finish far from certain based on the first three months of the season, Juventus could very well be under even more of a financial strain next summer compared to where they currently stand.
On the Vlahovic front, Comolli said the following:
“We reached an understanding last summer. We’ll speak again at the end of the season, but we’re confident. No Italian club can compete financially with the Premier League, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be competitive.”
It is very true that no Italian club can currently compete with the financial behemoth that is the Premier, so Vlahovic is unlikely to get a salary anywhere close to the €12 million net figure he is currently paid at Juventus from any of the big clubs in Serie A. What this “understanding” means is another question entirely, and what Comolli is “confident” about remains to be seen.
New Juve manager Luciano Spalletti looks to be somebody who rates Vlahovic, but we’ve seen that it’s been very hard for the big Serbian striker to have extended runs of goal-scoring form ever since he arrived from Fiorentina nearly four years ago.
