Pressure is building on Igor Tudor at Juventus after the Serie A side saw their winless run extended to six games in all competitions with a 2-0 loss to Como at the weekend. The club are reportedly assessing potential replacements for the coach, who only signed a permanent contract in the summer. With the Croatian coach earning a gross salary of €8 million, however, Juventus may find it difficult to sack him, as former manager Thiago Motta is still on the club’s payroll.
How much Tudor's sacking could cost Juventus
According to , Juventus are paying a gross salary of €12m (£10m/$14m) to Motta and his coaching staff, having sacked the former star last season. Combined with Tudor’s €8m salary, the club are currently spending a total of €20m (£17m/$23m) on managerial wages. Following their latest 2-0 loss to Como, which extended their winless run to six matches, Juventus have begun internal evaluations to consider potential replacements such as Roberto Mancini and Edin Terzic. However, the situation is complicated by UEFA’s ongoing investigation into a possible Financial Fair Play (FFP) breach. The Bianconeri are being examined for potentially exceeding the allowable loss limit of €90m (£76m/$98m) over the three seasons between 2022-23 and 2024-25. This scrutiny could make sacking Tudor and appointing a third coach under the same payroll financially difficult for Juventus.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportComo's win over Juventus puts more pressure on Tudor
Como took an early lead in the third minute when Nico Paz’s cross from a quick counter found Marc-Oliver Kempf at the far post, giving them a 1-0 advantage. The home side continued to threaten, with Maxence Caqueret forcing a fine save from Juventus goalkeeper Michele De Gregorio. Juventus tried to press high but lacked sharpness in the final third, which played into Como’s hands. Exploiting gaps in the Bianconeri defence, Como created several more chances, with De Gregorio called into action multiple times. Paz eventually sealed Juventus’ fate, cutting inside on his left foot to score after a brilliant counter-attack, giving Como a two-goal cushion.
The win lifted Como to sixth place in the table, with manager Cesc Fabregas delivering a rousing post-match speech to congratulate his young squad. For Juventus, it marked their first defeat of the season, having started with three consecutive wins, including a thrilling 4-3 victory over Inter, and then five consecutive draws in all competitions. The loss saw them drop to seventh in the standings with just 12 points, increasing the pressure on Tudor, who was appointed as permanent head coach after the club’s failed attempts to bring in Gian Piero Gasperini and Antonio Conte.
Motta still on the payroll despite being sacked
Tudor had succeeded Motta, who had been appointed as Juventus manager at the start of last season under then-sporting director Cristiano Giuntoli. Following a major transfer window that saw the arrivals of Pierre Kalulu, Teun Koopmeiners, Douglas Luiz, Francesco Conceicao, Khephren Thuram, Juan Cabal, Nico Gonzales and De Gregorio, expectations were very high for Motta after his historic campaign with Bologna, where he guided the club to a fifth-place finish in the 2023-24 season and secured their first ever Champions League qualification. Motta had also gained attention for his innovative 2-7-2 tactical thesis.
However, his tenure at Juventus began slowly, as the team managed only 13 wins and 11 draws in 27 Serie A games, including a thrilling 4-4 draw against Inter in the Derby d'Italia at San Siro. The Bianconeri were eliminated from the Supercoppa Italiana by AC Milan following a Christian Pulisic penalty and a bizarre own goal from Federico Gatti. Despite an impressive 2-0 victory over Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, Juventus could only reach the Champions League play-off round, where they were knocked out by Dutch side PSV. The final straw came when Juventus fell 3-0 to Fiorentina, putting their top four ambitions and Motta's job in serious jeopardy.
Getty ImagesTudor's challenges and upcoming match against Madrid
Tudor will be aiming to spark a turnaround as Juventus prepare for a daunting trip to the Santiago Bernabeu to face Real Madrid in the Champions League. The coach faces mounting pressure to fix problems at both ends of the pitch, with Juventus’ attack struggling to find rhythm, scoring just four goals in their last five games. Despite Tudor’s public defense of his backline, the team has looked fragile defensively, conceding 10 goals in their last six matches and losing Gleison Bremer to a long-term injury. His side now face the daunting task of stopping Kylian Mbappe, who has been in lethal form for Madrid, netting five of their seven goals in the competition so far.