How much Juventus could save if Thiago Motta returns to Bologna

Recent rumours claim that Thiago Motta could potentially return to Bologna if the Rossoblu part company with Vincenzo Italiano, but how much would Juventus save if the move went ahead? 

Thiago Motta has been out of work since being dismissed as head coach of Juventus in March last year. He lasted less than a year in the job after being called in to replace Massimiliano Allegri for the 2024-25 season. 

The 43-year-old has since been linked with several managerial vacancies, including with Real Sociedad, AS Monaco, Bayer Leverkusen and Spartak Moscow. 

Motta is in no particular rush to jump back into coaching and according to Calciomercato.com, he wants to take as much time as possible to evaluate his next steps to ensure that his next job is the right fit. 

There have been rumours circulating over the last few days that Motta could potentially return to his former club Bologna should they take the decision to part ways with current head coach, Italiano. 

Italiano guided Bologna to their first Coppa Italia title in 51 years last season, gaining a spot in the Europa League in the process, but is currently on a dismal run of form with just one Serie A victory to his name since the beginning of December. 

The Rossoblu are now 10th in the table and risk slipping into the bottom half of the table if they fail to beat Parma over the weekend. 

In the event that Bologna do part company with Italiano in the near future, it is expected that Motta will be among the candidates to replace him. 

Though he left Juventus last March, Motta has not yet terminated his contract, which means that he is still entitled to a salary until the end of his contract in the summer of 2027. 

According to reports from Calciomercato, Motta still earns a net salary of around €3m per season from Juventus, which costs Juventus roughly €5.5m gross. That salary would be wiped off the Juve balance sheet in the event that Motta takes over at Bologna.