La Gazzetta Dello Sport highlights Federico Cherubini and Fabio Paratici’s different approaches to transfers with the current Juventus director who was unwilling to ‘sacrifice’ young players.
Paratici is among the 11 people recommended for trial in an investigation over Juventus’ finances with the Bianconeri suspected of having registered inflated transfer values and hidden salaries in their balance sheet, paying players under the table.
Paratici spent 11 years at Juventus and left the club in the summer of 2021, joining Tottenham.
The wiretaps published by Italian media highlight the different approach between Paratici and Cherubini who had been at Juventus for several years before becoming the club’s CFO replacing Paratici.
Cherubini arrived at Juventus during the Marotta era and worked with both him and Paratici at the club.
Italy’s Guardia Di Finanza found a notebook belonging to Cherubini where he had noted his concerns about Paratici’s methods and even accused him of “destroying a generation, from Kean, to Leonardo Spinazzola and Emil Audero…”
Cherubini allegedly told investigators that he wrote the notebook before a meeting with Paratici to extend his contract at Juventus.
“I wanted to clarify a few things which you find written here,” he said, according to Gazzetta.
“In this document, you will find my concerns about the rapport with Fabio. I had received offers to start a new path with other cubs and for the first time, I thought about leaving.”
Many other wiretaps published in Italian media prove Cherubini’s doubts about his former boss and chief of Juventus’ technical area.
“Fabio drugged the market. That is, even Kulusevski or Chiesa, who are excellent players, but when we bought them we paid too much for them. Kulusevski had done five months in Serie A and we paid €35m plus €9m bonuses for him, that’s €44m,” said Cherubini speaking to an undisclosed person.
He repeated something similar to club director Stefano Bertola: “If Fabio woke up in the morning and had a headache or a drink, he could spend €20m without telling anyone. It was dangerous.”
Paratici’s role drastically changed when Marotta left Juventus in 2018, becoming the head of the technical area and needing minimum authorization to complete transfers. Documents scrutinized by investigators seem to prove Cherubini didn’t always agree with the former director and once said that Paratici was pushing ‘a legit system, too far.’
“I felt I was selling my soul because I was part of those things,” continued Cherubini in another conversation published by Gazzetta.
“I was supposed to tell Fabio that I did not agree with him, but then he’d do it anyway. I told him to fix things because he could no longer involve our guys in €10m deals.”
Cherubini is not under investigation but is expected to leave the club at the end of the season.