Juventus slumps as false accounting investigation prompts board to resign

By Geoffrey Smith 

Investing.com -- Juventus (BIT:JUVE) stock slumped on Tuesday after the entire board of the Italian soccer club resigned in connection with a police investigation into its transfer business and suspected false accounting.

Juventus said in a statement late on Monday that the resignations came after the board "considered the centrality and relevance of pending legal and accounting issues." Those resigning include president Andrea Agnelli, the latest in a line of Juve executives from the family behind the automaker FIAT, and vice-president and former player Pavel Nedved. 

The club appears to have reacted to findings from the year-long investigation, which revolved around the recognition of "revenue from player registration rights".

Juventus has historically enjoyed a big advantage in financial firepower over its Italian rivals, an advantage that widened over the last decade, helping it to nine successive league titles. 

However, the company's player expenses have sky-rocketed at the same time, not least due to the signing of Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo in 2018 for 118 million euros (€1=$1.0375).

The club has called a shareholders meeting for January 18 to appoint a new board. 

Shares in Juventus fell as much as 8% at the opening in Milan to their lowest in over five years, but pared their losses by 04:15 ET (09:15 GMT) to trade down only 3.4%.