Juventus paid more than £100M to sign Cristiano Ronaldo, 33, earlier this year.GETTY IMAGES
Juventus "may be the giant of Italian football" but the financial challenges facing Serie A show why "the Old Lady is now scratching in the bottom of her handbag," according to Martyn Ziegler of the LONDON TIMES. TV income from the domestic league in Italy is "dwarfed by that enjoyed by clubs in the Premier League." Last season, for example, Juventus earned £102M, the same as EPL side Huddersfield Town, according to an analysis from football finance blog Swiss Ramble. No other side in Italy's top flight "came close to earning the same as the bottom club in the Premier League." That picture "partly explains why Juventus shelled out" more than £100M on signing Cristiano Ronaldo at the age of 33. Only in terms of income from the Champions League is Juventus "on par with the other top European clubs," but it is still down to tenth in the Money League compiled by Deloitte. This is despite the fact that in '16, Juventus "earned the most of any team in the Champions League after reaching the final" -- helped by the fact that in that season there were only two Serie A teams in the competition to split the Italian share. But "that pot had to be split three ways last season," and at the end of this season, it will have to be divided among four Italian sides. Juventus Chair Andrea Agnelli, who is also the president of the European Club Association, has been an "outspoken voice in demanding more Champions League matches for the elite clubs and fewer domestic games." He knows that the Italian league has "hit a ceiling" in terms of TV rights and said earlier this year, "Serie A, the product, has come to one of its lowest moments" (LONDON TIMES, 10/23).
