Tether, the second-largest shareholder of the famous Italian football club Juventus, seeks a position on the club’s board. The firm bought the stakes worth about €128 million ($149 million). The purchase was made on Valentine’s Day of 2025. The investment was significant as it marked the first time a major European club had a crypto company as a top investor.
Exor, a company owned by the Agnelli family, has run Juventus for nearly 100 years and owns 65.4% of the club. But recently things have not been going well. Four months later, Tether’s CEO, Paolo Ardoino, said Juventus and Exor are barely talking to them.
Tether wants to buy more shares and get a seat on the club’s board to help make decisions, but their requests are being ignored. Tether says they just want to help the club succeed. They have been sending letters to set up a meeting. Juventus is planning to hold the meeting after the Club World Cup in July 2025.
As per the reports, Exor will decide what to do about Tether after that meeting.
Juventus is expecting to lose €18 million in its next financial report. To cover this and buy new players, the club is thinking of raising €15 million to €100 million. Exor, the company that owns most of Juventus (65.4%), has promised to give €15 million and wants to keep its majority control.
Tether, a crypto company with $13 billion in profits and a $150 billion portfolio (including $115 billion in US Treasury bonds), sees itself as an important investor after buying a 10.7% stake. However, Tether is upset because Juventus and Exor are not including them in financial talks.
“We first want to understand how or if there is space for collaboration,” Ardoino said. “Before taking any other step, it would be nice to try to find a way to meet on common ground.”
Paolo Ardoino, Tether’s CEO and a lifelong Juventus fan, wants to use artificial intelligence (AI) and blockchain to modernize the club, but he says Italian football is stuck in old ways. Tether is also investing in other fields like farming, media, and brain implants. These initiatives by the firm highlight that it wants to grow beyond crypto.
The tension with Juventus also delays a clash between traditional football management and new, tech-focused investors like Tether.
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