Atalanta are one of the clubs with charges to answer.
As the “Prisma” investigation into Juventus continues, information provided by the prosecutor handling the case has led to six other Serie A clubs now having cases to answer.
The entire case concerns inflated player transfer fees – as previously reported in this column – which saw authorities look into a number of player transfers, with the belief that the club was registering unrealistic figures as a plusvalenza.
Technically that is the Italian word for “capital gains,” an accounting term for the profit earned on the sale of an asset like stocks, bonds or real estate, usually used to describe the difference between the (higher) selling price and (lower) cost price of a particular asset.
Now, the Corriere della Sera has reported details of how the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office has forwarded documents to six other prosecutors around the country.
These documents provide details of allegedly suspicious deals conducted with Juve by Atalanta, Bologna, Cagliari, Sampdoria, Sassuolo and Udinese, with all six clubs now needing to explain some unreported details.
A number of news outlets have broken down the players concerned, starting with Atalanta where buy-back clauses in four transfers have been uncovered. The deals involved are Cristian Romero’s €3 million ($3.19 million) clause, Mattia Caldara at €3.5 million ($3.72 million) then Federico Mattiello and Simone Muratore, each with a buy-back clause of €4 million ($4.25 million).
Fabio Paratici was involved in two deals for Cristian Romero which look set to be a major factor in … [+]
A wiretap transcript published by calciomercato.com website seems to show that Atalanta director Luca Percassi knew the risks of these agreements too. “I will never be able to take out that letter there,” he told Tottenham’s Fabio Paratici, “because if we go to court, it will come out that I made false accounting.”
Meanwhile, Cagliari’s involvement centres around a deal that saw Alberto Cerri move from Juventus to Sardinia, initially on a €1 million ($1.06 million) loan before a permanent €9 million ($9.56 million) switch in July 2019.
That saw Juve register capital gains of around €8 million ($8.5 million), but an email from July 2018 allegedly gives the Turin giants an unreported buy-back option on the now 26-year-old Cerri.
For Sassuolo, there is reported evidence that Paratici (who was then at Juventus) and the Neroverdi President Giovanni Carnevalli had an agreement prior to moves for Merih Demiral and Hamed Junior Traore, who couldn’t join the Bianconeri due to their non-EU status at the time.
“I read in the papers that various Serie A clubs are involved, but we have not received anything,” Carnevali told Sky Italia earlier this week. “We have to wait and see, but to be honest, we are very calm about the whole thing.”
Finally, Bologna’s acquisition of Riccardo Orsolini will be investigated, as will the Sampdoria deals for Emil Audero, Daouda Peeters and Erasmo Mule all be closely examined, while Udinese will need to explain the details of Rolando Mandragora’s move.
Juventus – who have been deducted 15 points already – have a preliminary hearing scheduled for March 27 and are seemingly optimistic that they can overturn that initial ruling.
Shortly after being drawn to face the Bianconeri in the Europa League, SC
“I don’t know the details, but if I look at the league table, without the 15-point deduction they would be second right now,” Saier told Calciomercato. “That says it all and I think the case has not yet been resolved or closed.
“Furthermore, I have just spoken to a colleague from Juventus – Pessotto – and he is optimistic that the points will be returned. Obviously, it’s not a pleasant situation for them.”
Whether they do or not, what is clear is that Juventus is no longer facing this matter on their own.
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/adamdigby/2023/02/28/six-more-serie-a-clubs-face-similar-charges-to-juventus-in-plusvalenza-case/