New era for Juve in wake of Agnelli exit

The owner of top Italian football club Juventus proposed a new chairman on Tuesday after the entire board dramatically resigned over a probe into allegations of false accounting.

Exor, which owns 63.8 per cent of the Serie A club, said it was proposing Gianluca Ferrero to replace long-time chairman Andrea Agnelli, who led the resignations on Monday night.

The board quit en masse after receiving independent legal advice over an investigation by prosecutors in Turin into allegations of false accounting and irregularities in the transfer and loans of players.

Agnelli, scion of one of Italy’s most powerful and richest families, had been at the helm of Juventus since 2010.

He had taken over after the darkest period in the history of the club -- known as ‘The Old Lady’ -- due to the Calciopoli scandal in influencing the appointment of referees.

However, under the chairmanship of Agnelli, 46, the glory days returned.  

The Turin giants won nine straight Serie A titles as well as reaching the 2015 and 2017 Champions League finals.

Agnelli sent an emotional farewell letter to the club’s employees, according to Italian media.

“When the team is not compact... this can be fatal. At that moment you need to be lucid and contain the damage,” the letter read, according to reports.

“We are facing a delicate moment from a corporate point of view and compactness has failed.

“Better for everyone to leave together, giving a new team the chance to turn the match around.”