Juventus president Agnelli reveals reason for parting with Allegri

Juventus president Andrea Agnelli has admitted that parting ways with Massimiliano Allegri was ‘the toughest decision he has ever had to make’ during a press conference on Saturday.

The Italian champions announced that Allegri will be stepping down from his position before the start of next season as Agnelli insisted that it was the ‘right decision’. 

Allegri won five successive Serie A titles for Juventus while he also guided the team to two Champions League finals.

Allegri is given a round of applause by the Juventus players during his press conference

However, Juventus’ shock exit to Ajax in the Champions League this season may have been a big decision in Allegri’s departure this summer.

While Allegri failed to bring home European football’s biggest prize, Agnelli heaped huge amounts of praise on the 51-year-old who won four Coppa Italia trophies and two Supercoppa Italiana titles.

‘What he contributed more than everything was heart,’ Agnelli said. ‘Leading a business, you need to make the right decisions at the right time. Only time will tell if the correct decisions were made, but aside from the considerations outside this club, we have our reality inside the club.

‘When someone enters a bar and comments on what is happening inside that club or that business, they can never understand all the elements taken into consideration unless they are inside that environment.

‘As you know, I don’t like yes men, I want strong opinions, listen to them all and eventually decisions are made. Anyone unable to handle that pressure could not lead a football club or a business.

‘The decision matured over time. When you face certain issues, it becomes clear that this is the right decision for the good of everyone involved.’

Allegri poses with the Italian Supercoppa trophy back in January at King Abdullah Stadium

Allegri is covered in water by his players after they were crowned as league champions in April

Agnelli admitted parting ways with Allegri was ‘the toughest decision he has ever had to make’

Agnelli insisted that nobody at the club was ‘indispensable’ by reiterating that the decision was made ‘in the interests of the club’. 

He said: ‘It is always and only the club that makes the decisions. This club has its history and nobody is indispensable at Juventus, from me down to the kit staff.

‘If you look at the history of the presidents, coaches, players and even medical staff, it’s the history of Juventus and not of individuals. There is responsibility within a club that has to be shouldered in the interests of the club.’

Agnelli was asked if this was the toughest decision he’d ever had to make at Juventus: ‘Yes. Absolutely, yes. For all the reasons I outlined… yes.’

Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino have been touted as the two favourites to takeover at Juventus. 

The 51-year-old guided Juventus to two Champions League finals but lost both times

The Juventus president insisted that ‘the club has history and nobody is indispensable’