Shame on anyone who valued Agnelli

Andrea Agnelli was always mediocre. He wasn’t a great visionary or thinker beyond what was in it for his club, Juventus. inside, he was frightened — of new money, of fresh talent, of rival leagues and competitions. He was frightened of english football, of Atalanta, of Paris Saint-germain, of all the challenges to the established order.

He came from an entitled background, and thought Juventus were entitled, too. And having failed to destroy competition in european football in one final attempt to preserve undeserved superiority, now he is gone.

He leaves a mess behind. Juventus’s numbers do not add up, although they claim to have done nothing wrong. last year the club lost £220m and are under investigation from the Turin public prosecutors’ office, amid allegations of false accounting and market manipulation. They won nine league titles on Agnelli’s watch, but it is not the first time success may have come amid ethical compromise. There are allegations of hidden payments to Cristiano ronaldo, of illegal commissions from transfers and loans, invoices issued for non-existent transactions. As many as 16 Juventus employees, including Agnelli, are implicated. This is the man, never forget, who has been pontificating on the future direction of european football for some years now; who was among the prime movers in the Super league; who judges and decries the most successful clubs in english football. This is the man our elite institutions wanted as a business partner. They should be ashamed.