“I hadn’t done anything wrong” – Paratici defends himself, proud of Juventus nine-year dominance | OneFootball

Former Juventus sporting director Fabio Paratici insists he didn’t violate any rules during his 11-year spell in Turin.

The 53-year-old first arrived at the club in 2010, accompanying his mentor Beppe Marotta, following their prosperous collaboration at Sampdoria.

The two men were the main architects who built the Juventus squad that went on to dominate the Italian landscape for nine years in a row.

However, things went south when Paratici usurped Marotta, who ended up leaving the club as the parties no longer shared the same vision, especially in the aftermath of the Cristiano Ronaldo deal.

Fabio Paratici claims he didn’t commit any wrongdoing

After few years later, Juventus and their top officials were accused of registering capital gains through unethical and illegal means, by inflating the players’ valuation.

This investigation, along with a separate inquiry related to the post-COVID salary manoeuvres, earned the club a point deduction, while former president Andrea Agnelli and several other directors received temporary bans.

Although he had already joined Tottenham at the time, Paratici was painted as the main mastermind behind Juve’s capital gains business. Nevertheless, he insists that he didn’t commit any wrongdoing.

“Because of my character, when I faced this situation, I was ashamed to defend myself. Because you defend yourself when you do something wrong: deep down I always felt I hadn’t done anything wrong,” he told Sky Sport Italia via JuventusNews24.

“For 11 years, I spent 24 hours a day thinking about Juventus and how to do the best I could, in terms of sport and relationships. So I almost felt ashamed to have to say I hadn’t done anything wrong.”

“It’s been a very long process. At first, you feel disoriented, you don’t understand what’s happening because you’re not used to it: you have to deal with topics you’ve never faced before, with situations you never thought you’d have to face. In the end, you almost feel like you’ve improved as a person.

“It was never a topic of discussion. There are dozens of criteria that change player valuations. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be talking about transfer opportunities. There must be a logical range for market operators. But then you enter a situation of absolute subjectivity.”

Paratici looks back on Juventus winning dynasty

Nevertheless, Paratici remains immensely proud of what he achieved at Juventus, explaining why that glorious era won’t be replicated.

“Everything you win is quickly forgotten, while everything you don’t win stays in your head. And that’s the case for me too. What I lost sticks with me the most, like the Champions League finals with Juventus. I still remember them like a physical pain.

“When you win, everything almost seems normal. When I think back about Juve, repeating that for nine years in a row is difficult. If you do 365 x 9, it’s a crazy calculation: it means we were top of the table for more or less 3,500 days.

“To do that, you have to start working on Monday with a winning mentality. This was an incredible thing that the people who worked at Juventus did. And it’s unlikely to be repeated.”