Auditor signals reservations over amended Juventus loss

The finances of the most successful club in Italian soccer history are under scrutiny by prosecutors in Italy as well as stock market and sporting authorities over alleged irregularities in player trading and salary payments.

Turin-based Juventus, which is owned by the holding company of the Agnelli family, has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to defend its interests with sporting and legal bodies.

Following a dramatic mass resignation of its board last week, Juventus published restated financial statements late on Friday evening.

Under the new draft budget signed off last week, Juventus trimmed its 2021-2022 financial loss to 239 million euros ($251 million) from 254 million euros it reported initially. It raised its 2020-2021 loss to 226 million euros from 210 million euros previously stated.

In its audit report prepared ahead of a Juventus shareholder meeting on Dec. 27, Deloitte said the new consolidated financial statement provided a "true and fair view" of the club financial position as of June 30, 2022.

But it added some issues remained, including on the way players' salaries were booked in 2020 and 2021 after COVID-19 disrupted the sporting calendar.

As a result, the audit report indicates Juventus has now overestimated its 2022 loss by 44 million euros, while it underestimated the figure by 21 million euros the year before.

The club said issues raised by the independent auditor are based on "interpretations and applications of accounting rules... and assessments that Juventus does not agree with", adding it will continue to cooperate with supervisory bodies.