Reports: Juventus finalizing plea deal agreement in salary maneuver case

With the completion of the plusvalenza case and the 10-point penalty coming down last week, a lot of the off-field attention involving Juventus’ legal troubles shifted toward the second of the two trials involving Italy’s biggest club.

It looks as though we might not have to wait long to see the end of that as well.

According to multiple reports out of Italy on Monday night, Juventus’ legal team and the FIGC prosecutor Giuseppe Chinè are set to agree to a plea deal in the salary maneuver case that stems from the postponement of player salaries post-lockdown in the summer of 2020. While the details of the agreement aren’t totally known, it is expected that either a small points penalty — rumored to be just enough to drop Juve out of contention for a Europa League spot — or a hefty fine is in the cards when the proceedings are carried out.

A combination of the two are also possible, according to reports.

Because of the reported agreement, the trial has been moved up to Tuesday rather than taking place on June 15 like we heard after the points penalty was handed down by the FIGC’s Court of Appeals right before kickoff against Empoli last Monday.

With the season coming to an end this weekend and the Champions League now officially out of reach after the loss to AC Milan over the weekend, Juventus trying to quickly conclude the remaining legal issues out there might not be a huge surprise. And while we don’t know all of the workings of the plea deal, this very much could be a case of Juve’s legal team trying to get ahead of things as fast as possible so that the club can try to move on from what has been an absolutely tumultuous six months since the then-board of directors resigned during the World Cup break.

Juventus Chief Football Officer Francesco Calvo may have also dropped a hint about something like this happening when he spoke to DAZN prior to the Milan loss Sunday night:

“We have said from the start very clearly that we feel we were punished unjustly, that it has been disproportionate, that we started the trial accused of violating one article, but concluded it condemned for a completely different one. That is water under the bridge now, this is definitive and we are focused on the pitch.”

This appears to be connected to the belief that Juventus, now out of the Champions League, don’t want to have things lingering on into the summer and when the new league year begins on July 1. If Chinè agrees to the plea deal that many believe has been agreed to, then the case will be closed and Juventus can — at least for now — put to rest the off-field drama that has hung over pretty much all of the 2022-23 season.