Giovanni Carnevali Named Juventus CEO as Comolli Exits With €850k Severance | OneFootball

Juventus confirmed on June 12, 2026 that Giovanni Carnevali has been appointed chief executive, with Damien Comolli departing the club by mutual agreement after just over a year in post. The move was reported by Gianluca Albanese, whose coverage confirmed the financial terms of Comolli’s exit.

Market reporting confirms Juventus agreed to pay Comolli a gross €850,000 severance and simultaneously waived any right to reclaim a sign-on bonus referenced in his employment letter dated June 1, 2025. The board’s official framing – mutual agreement rather than dismissal – signals an orderly transition rather than a crisis removal.

Comolli’s departure closes a brief and turbulent chapter

Comolli arrived at Continassa in June 2025 as an external appointment intended to bring a data-driven, analytically rigorous approach to Juventus’s sporting operations – a profile that represented a deliberate break from the club’s traditional Italian-football instincts. His tenure coincided with a period of persistent governance instability and a Champions League failure that sharpened scrutiny on every decision coming out of the front office.

The €850,000 gross severance, combined with the waived sign-on repayment, indicates Juventus moved to close his contract cleanly rather than contest terms – consistent with a board that wants a reset without a legal sideshow. Francesco Calvo has previously spoken about the structural differences at Juventus across his two spells at the club, and the revolving door at executive level has been a recurring theme across that entire stretch.

Carnevali brings a football-first domestic pedigree

Carnevali’s appointment represents a decisive pivot toward an experienced Italian operator. He built his reputation across more than two decades at Sassuolo and Mapei Football, overseeing a club model widely admired for punching above its financial weight through intelligent recruitment and a coherent sporting identity. Juventus’s official statement described him as a “highly respected and widely regarded executive” – language that underlines the board’s intent to project credibility rather than disruption.

Juventus shares responded immediately, rising 3.9% to €2.194 following the announcement, suggesting the market read the appointment as stabilising rather than speculative.

What the change means for Spalletti and the summer window

The timing is pointed. With the transfer window open and Luciano Spalletti’s position the subject of ongoing scrutiny – John Elkann has previously assured Spalletti of financial backing despite the Champions League failure – Carnevali’s arrival sharpens the question of who drives recruitment decisions from here. Whether he operates alongside a designated sporting director or consolidates authority at the top of the structure is the first organisational question his appointment leaves open. The coming weeks, and the first public remarks from Carnevali himself, will determine how quickly the Bianconeri can translate this executive reset into concrete squad-building momentum.