Juventus CEO Maurizio Arrivabene discussed the importance of the growth decree and the differences between football and Formula One.
The COVID pandemic heavily impacted the finances of all Italian clubs and now the teams are starting to recover, with the majority working to become more sustainable in an attempt to guarantee future security. With Italy failing to qualify for the upcoming World Cup in Qatar, the quality of football on display in Serie A and the finances available to clubs has again become a talking point.
Speaking at the forum ‘Il Calcio che l’Italia si merita’, Arrivabene first discussed Juventus’ work to lower their wage bill, and how the growth decree is an important factor.
“In a world that talks about economics and finance, the word sustainability is a pillar when evaluating investments.
“A fundamental issue concerns the competitiveness of Italian football compared to other events such as the Premier League or La Liga, keeping the growth decree alive, in this sense, is a small step.
“It is right that tax benefits are maintained to make Italy competitive in the European football market. But this is not enough.
“You also have to take a step back and ask yourself what today’s football is compared to the new generation that is growing up: there is a drop in attention among young people.”
The Juventus CEO then spoke further about the lower amount of interest from the younger generations, discussing the differences between football and Formula One.
“I am often asked what the differences are between football and F1. I remember a press conference where, on air, talking about the competitiveness of Formula 1, I created a bit of a scandal by saying that we were in the entertainment industry and we needed to attract young people, the future customers.
“We are not only dealing with sports, but also with video games and social media. The example was to keep a closer eye on and identify competitors to attract young people.
“Do you think a young person, a potential customer, would rather spend an hour watching a sporting event on TV or on a PlayStation?
“Already at the time, the idea was to introduce Netflix, which told stories. Today it is attracting a lot of viewers from the US. Let us open our eyes and confront the world around us, not necessarily those who offer the same product as us.”
Finally, Arrivabene defended his words regarding the growth decree and touched on the financial impact of the Cristiano Ronaldo deal.
“I didn’t say it was the solution, but one of the solutions. Ronaldo brought some results, plus he brought a different visibility for Italian football.
“I would not dwell on him, but I would put it on a higher discourse, it is understandable to introduce age and income thresholds so as not to harm young Italians.”
#Juventus | Arrivabene: "Decreto crescita necessario per essere competitivi"https://t.co/QI1gzJZfrh
— Sportface (@sportface2016) May 20, 2022
He should explain the difference between selling Ramsey and cigarettes.
It’s the same, he was bad in F1 and he is horrible in football….
so juve board is aware of people declining attention span, and yet keep allegri as a manager? that man will put even the most hard core juve fan to sleep, let alone win over new fans
Loski you are right. I grew up as a Juventus fan, and now after 15 years of being a bianconero, I do not watch Juventus games anymore because they play very predictible, boring, defense-oriented (although it doesn’t work in modern fotbal as we saw at Stanford Bridge as well as Villareal). If Juventus wants to have a future, they need an attack minded coach