Report: Juventus director Cristiano Giuntoli risks the sack – His future depends on two factors | OneFootball

The future of Juventus Football Director Cristiano Giuntoli is reportedly hanging in the balance, as the hierarchy could decide to wield the axe.

The 53-year-old made a name for himself during his spell at Carpi and then went on to find great success at Napoli. He built the team that clinched the club’s first Scudetto title in 33 years before departing in the summer of 2023 to join the Bianconeri.

During his first year in Turin, Giuntoli was a mere observer, with former Juventus sporting director Giovanni Manna taking charge of the sporting project.

Therefore, Giuntoli’s first real transfer campaign at the helm was last summer, overseeing a major overhaul.

Giuntoli’s Juventus project already limping

(Photo by Alessandro Sabattini/Getty Images)

Under his watch, Juventus parted ways with the likes of Federico Chiesa, Adrien Rabiot and Wojciech Szczesny, and brought in nine new first-team players, including Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz and Nico Gonzalez.

However, several of the director’s acquisitions have failed to impress thus far, and his chosen head coach, Thiago Motta, endured an abysmal eight months at Continassa before being taken out of his misery.

Therefore, Giuntoli’s work has been under great scrutiny, and according to Calciomercato, Juventus majority owner, John Elkann, could decide to remove him from his post.

Juventus consider sacking Cristiano Giuntoli

As the source explains, Champions League qualification could play a decisive factor in the equation, as the director is unlikely to be sacked if the club secures a place in Europe’s elite club competition, which has been identified as the main objective of the campaign.

On the contrary, Giuntoli would be at a major risk of losing his job if the team falls short in this regard.

Nevertheless, the hierarchy could still decide to give him another chance as was the case with Beppe Marotta when Juventus finished 7th under Luigi Delneri in 2011.

At the time, the current Inter president was confirmed as general director, while Delneri was replaced by a certain Antonio Conte, which kickstarted one of the club’s most successful eras.

So could history repeat itself, with Conte coming in to resurrect Giuntoli’s tenure?