Fabio Paratici joined The Old Lady in the summer of 2010 as Technical Area Coordinator. Prior to this, he spent his time as a chief scout at Sampdoria. A year into his employment he was then appointed to Sports Director in 2011.
After 7 years in this role, Paratici became Juventus’ Chief Football Officer. Finally from October 2020, Paratici took on the role of Managing Director of the Football Area (Juventus).
All of these titles and positions can be somewhat confusing, however, the main area I will be focusing on is his involvement within the transfer market. During his tenure, Paratici was heavily involved in some of Juventus’ most prolific transfers.
Paratici left Juventus with fans having mixed reactions about the Italian’s time in Turin. It is without a doubt that Paratici was involved in some brilliant signings, however, he was also involved in handing out extremely large wages to players who probably did not deserve them.
The best example of this was when Aaron Ramsey was brought in on a pre-contract agreement in 2019. At the time the Welshman was 28, however, his age and contract length were not the issue.
According to BBC Sport, Ramsey signed a deal that pocketed him an astronomical £400,000 a week! Although at the time, he was playing well for Arsenal, this contract was something that many Juventus fans were outraged at.
In the same window, Rabiot would sign for Juventus on a free transfer from French giants PSG.
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Similar to Ramsey, this was very good business conducted by Paratici, once again though the contract that was offered seemed to be extremely high in comparison to Rabiot’s previous salary.
Salary Sport report that his contract was almost tripled to £176,000 a week when he joined, in comparison to £62,000 that he received whilst in the French capital.
However, this is not an article in which I am looking to put down Tottenham’s newest member of staff. There have been many times in which Paratici has conducted some brilliant business to bring in either world-class players or up and coming talents.
Something that I have noticed, is that during his time in Italy, Paratici was excellent at scouting then bringing in young talents from clubs lower down the table. Just a few examples of this over the years would be the signings of Dybala, Chiesa and Kulusevski.
Dybala over the years has cemented himself into club history, becoming an integral member of the sides that won the Serie A for 9 seasons in a row. He has no doubt been an absolute success at the club and been a bargain for a fee of only £36 million from Palermo (Transfer Markt).
With Chiesa, McKennie and Kulusevski, it is still early in their careers but from what I have seen and what has been reported on them, they seem to be three key players at the club for the future.
The club has traditionally had an ageing squad, but it seems to me that the two attacking midfielders and box to box midfielder are part of a new era at the Allianz Stadium.
Then we have what some have called the deal of the century. We all know that Ronaldo is one of the best players to ever play the game but it is not his ability that brings him into this article but the role that Paratici played in bringing in the Portuguese veteran to Italy.
Juventus seemingly appeared out of nowhere to sign Ronaldo and Paratici would have been pivotal in the deal following extensive talks with super-agent Jorge Mendes.
Some may question the signing of Ronaldo but his goal to game ratio is still world-class. The Portuguese star has since scored 101 goals in 133 games for Juventus, whilst in the process leading them to 2 Serie A titles and 1 Coppa Italia.
To finish showcasing Paratici’s undeniable quality, I must mention Paul Pogba. His inclusion is more about the financial gain rather than his on-field abilities.
Paratici would have been involved with the free transfer of Pogba who was at the time only 19 in 2012. His contract had ended in Manchester and was signed by Juventus on a free.
The Frenchman went on to become a legend at Juventus, contributing directly to 74 goals during his time in only 178 matches. He was then sold back to United for a fee of around £90 million only 4 years later.
I am excited by the addition of Paratici as his experience and quality over the years has shone through. I hope that he brings balance to the hierarchy at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, taking some power away from Levy in the transfer department.
However, I do believe that Levy will also be able to help to iron out some of the flaws that the Italian has shown in the past with large contracts given out to players that seemingly do not deserve the money they are on.
Whatever way you look at it, this is an exciting time at the club…if we could just get a manager on board.
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