Elkann warning to Tether: ‘Juventus history and values are not for sale’

Juventus chief John Elkann explains ‘our history and values are not for sale’ after parent company Exor rejected a takeover bid from Tether.

While Tether are already minority shareholders, yesterday they announced a €1.1 billion offer to take over all the remaining shares held by the Agnelli family holding company Exor.

This was rejected outright and now Exor President Elkann, an heir to the Agnelli family fortune, released a video where he explained their reasoning.

Wearing a Juventus hoodie, he outlined their refusal for the present and the future.

“Juve have been part of my family for 102 years, in the real sense of the word, because over the course of a century, we’ve seen four generations make it bigger, stronger, protected it during difficult moments and celebrated in the many happy times.

“That is not all. Juve are part of a much, much bigger family. The Bianconeri family. It is made up of millions of fans in Italy and around the world, who love Juve the way they love those closest to them.

“It is precisely thinking about this passion, this history of love that unites us for over a century, that as a family we continue to support our team and look to the future to build a winning Juve.

“Our Juventus, our history, our values, are not for sale.”

While there had been reports in recent years that Exor were frustrated at the amount of money going into stabilising Juve coffers, especially in the wake of the accounting scandal over inflated transfer fees, they never really seemed amenable to the idea of selling the club.

Tether were only founded in 2014 and are a cryptocurrency company, who currently have an 11.52 per cent stake in Juventus and one member on the board of directors, Francesco Garino.