Key Andrea Agnelli, Beppe Marotta and Pavel Nedved quotes from Juventus’ shareholders meeting

Today was the annual general meeting of the shareholders at Juventus football club, with the organization releasing their financial statements for the year ending on 30 June 2016. These were approved earlier in the day during the Ordinary Shareholders’ Meeting, with the report that the year closed with a net income of € 4.1 million (profit of € 2.3 million in the financial year 2014/2015) entirely allocated to reserves, and therefore no dividends distributed.

After that was a quick media briefing from President Andrea Agnelli, Vice President Pavel Nedved, CEO Giuseppe Marotta and CFO Aldo Mazzia.

Agnelli on the state of Italian football -

"In 2006, Italian football was more or less on a par with Europe's other major leagues. In the following years, it stood still and, as a result, we are five years behind. The likes of the Bundesliga, La Liga and the Premier League are in far better health but that is not to say that will always be the case.

“For the next three to four years, Juventus has the potential to reach the heights of Europe’s biggest clubs. With the correct and necessary reforms, our growth will coincide with the re-emergence of Serie A as one of the continent’s leading divisions.

“Nothing is preventing Italy from having at least two teams in the Champions League quarter-finals in the coming years. There is a lot of ground to make up on our rivals but from the fans to the standard of football, we already have most of the requisite tools to do so.”

Nedved on the season so far -

“I would say that Juve are certainly on the right track so far this term. That said, even though we are top of the league after nine matches, there is still plenty to work and improve on. As we have said before, we are now looking to develop our style of play and ensure that we consolidate our early position of strength.

“Even the world’s greatest players can struggle to adapt to new surroundings when they move club, but in the case of Higuain we are absolutely delighted. He has made an excellent start to life here. I believe he is one of the finest finishers in the world at the moment.”

Marotta on the transfer market -

"The title race this season is wide open; the campaign is still only nine matches old and the standings are only now starting to take shape. There are many ways of lifting the Scudetto, whether with younger players or more experienced stars, but all that matters is that you are top of the table at the end of May.

“Our transfer business? Over the summer we were able to take advantage of the buy-out clauses of two very important players, Gonzalo Higuain and Miralem Pjanic. This kind of clause is common across the world of football and it is our duty to ensure that we are aware of any opportunities to move for quality players wherever possible."