"Make Juventus Great Again". Paolo Ardoino, CEO Tether and Juventus fan, he made it clear right away his goal: contribute to the Juventus growth and bring the most successful club in Italy back to the top.
Determined and ambitious, Ardoino sees Juventus as aenormous potential still untapped and wants to put it at the center of a relaunch project. "We want help the club a express its full potential. We have the financial capacity to support Juventus for the next 2000 years,” he said in an interview with Reuters
Tether's number one then reiterated his desire to collaborate with the black and white company, without upheavals: "We do not want to be hostile or aggressive. We just want to help Juventus because we see enormous and still untapped potential. Our main objective is to collaborate with the club's management and ownership."
Tether's entry into Juventus
Tether, a leading company in the cryptocurrency sector with over 140 billion dollars of capitalization and 400 million global users, announced that it has acquired a “strategic” minority stake in Juventus. The investment concerns the 5,01% of the club's shares, equal to approximately 19 million shares, purchased on the market over the last two months. The company has notified Consob exceeding the 5% threshold of voting rights.
Asked about possibility of increasing participation or even buy the club, Ardoino replied: “You don't have to ask me, the answer is on the other side: you can only buy what someone wants to sell. We are willing to remain in the minority or to evaluate other opportunities.”
E Exor, the holding company of the Agnelli family, which has controlled Juventus for a century, has always reiterated that the club is not for sale.
Why Juventus?
Ardoino explained the reasons behind the investment in the black and white club: “We are not a hedge fund. Me and Giancarlo Devasini (Tether founder) we are fans of Juventus. But beyond the fans, we see one of the most important teams in the world, with incredible potential. We closed the year with 13,7 billion in profits and they associate us with cryptocurrencies, but we do much more: we invest in new technologies, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. AI and biotech will become increasingly central to football, and Juventus has a formidable fan base around the world. We want to start off on tiptoe, without upheavals: the the fans will have to adapt to our presence".
What can change for Juventus?
Tether's entry into the black and white company opens up new scenarios, both from the point of view financial and technological. One of the most discussed hypotheses concerns the possible club sponsorship, as the contract with Jeep is expiring. Tether could be a natural candidate for the main sponsor role, but Paolo Ardoino dampens the speculations: “I do not exclude that we could become sponsors, but it is not our main objective. The Our goal is to bring innovation and help the club grow."
Innovation, in fact, is the real strength that Tether wants to bring to Juventus. The integration of blockchain solutions could revolutionize the way the club interacts with its fans, opening up new opportunities in digital payments and exclusive services for the global fan base. In addition, Tether's user network – in addition to 400 million all over the world – could represent astrategic opportunity to expand the Juventus brand in emerging markets.
Ardoino recently shared on X a clip depicting a zebra, the historic symbol of Juventus, accompanied by the message: "It's the redemption: going from being chased to chasing. Returning to where you deserve." A clear signal of Tether's ambitions, which with its entry could provide the club not only with new economic prospects, but also with a more modern and global vision.
Exor retains control
Despite the entry of Tether, Exor retains control of Juventus with 64% of the shares and 78,9% of the voting rights. The holding company specified that not having directly sold shares to Tether and have no intention of selling their stake.
“Exor did not sell Juventus shares to the cryptocurrency company Tether,” a spokesperson for the Agnelli holding company told Reuters.
Tether's purchase of shares has taken place exclusively on the market, without directly involving Exor, which remains the majority shareholder. The second partner in terms of importance remains the Lindsell Train Fund (8,2% of shares, 5% of voting rights).
While waiting for the pitch, Juve's stock soars on the stock exchange
While the team is called to improve its position in the league table, and this evening it is also playing for access to the Champions League round of 16 in the match against PSV, the markets are already rewarding Juventus.
Il black and white title recorded an increase of 22% in the last seven sessions, pushing the market capitalization beyond 1 billion euro, a value equal to 26 times net worth of the club. A positive signal that reflects the renewed interest of investors, fueled by recent corporate news and also by future prospects linked to the entry of Tether.
