Juventus Restructures Football Leadership with Massara and Chiellini
Juventus have redrawn the map of their football empire, handing the keys of the men’s sporting project to Frederic Massara and elevating Giorgio Chiellini into a powerful new institutional role at the heart of the club.
The Turin giants moved quickly after days of growing noise around Massara. Barely a month on from his departure from Roma, the 57-year-old has been confirmed as Chief Football Officer, a position that will place him at the centre of every major decision involving the men’s team.
Massara handed the controls
In a club statement, Juventus outlined a role that goes far beyond the traditional sporting director brief. Massara will report directly to Chief Executive Officer Giovanni Carnevali and “oversee the management and development of the men’s football division,” shaping and executing the club’s sporting strategies alongside Sporting Director Marco Ottolini.
This is not a gamble on potential. It is a bet on a proven operator.
Across spells with AC Milan and AS Roma, Massara built a reputation as one of European football’s sharpest executives, helping to construct competitive squads under pressure and scrutiny. Juventus are banking on that experience to steady and then elevate a club still recalibrating after turbulent seasons on and off the pitch.
The language from Turin was clear: this is about structure, not just names. The club stressed that Massara’s expertise “complements perfectly” the skills already inside the organisation, an attempt to show a coherent hierarchy rather than another layer of bureaucracy.
Chiellini steps into the corridors of power
While Massara takes charge of the football engine room, Chiellini moves into a role that speaks directly to Juventus’ broader ambitions.
After a year as Director of Football Strategy, the former captain becomes Chief Club Affairs Officer, a title that underlines how much trust the Bianconeri place in one of their most iconic figures.
His mission is not about transfers or tactics. It is about influence.
Juventus have tasked Chiellini with “engaging, building relationships and representing [the club’s] interests with key institutions, strategic stakeholders and sporting organisations, both in Italy and around the world.” In other words, he becomes the face and voice of Juventus in the boardrooms and committee rooms that increasingly shape modern football.
For a club still navigating its way through reputational and legal aftershocks of recent years, putting Chiellini in that role is a deliberate move. He carries credibility, both as a serial winner on the pitch and as a measured, respected figure off it.
Carnevali’s stamp on the new Juventus
These appointments also mark the first major structural moves from Giovanni Carnevali, who only arrived last month to replace Damien Comolli as CEO and General Manager after a brief spell for his predecessor at the Allianz Stadium.
Carnevali did not hide his satisfaction with the reshuffle, describing the new framework as “a solid, competent and cohesive structure, capable of supporting our ambitions both now and in the future.” Welcoming Massara into “the great Bianconeri family,” he underlined the value of his “in-depth knowledge of football” as Juventus try to align sporting vision with institutional strength.
The message is unmistakable: Juventus want clarity. Clear lines of responsibility, clear faces attached to key areas, clear accountability.
First signing under the new regime
The new hierarchy is not arriving to an empty desk. Juventus have already moved in the market, confirming their first summer signing with the arrival of Italy winger Jeff Ekhator in an €18m deal, including add-ons.
It is an early test case for the Carnevali–Massara–Ottolini axis, a glimpse of how the retooled structure might operate when squad-building decisions hit the table.
For Juventus, these are not cosmetic changes. They are laying down the architecture of the next cycle. The question now is simple: with Massara shaping the football project and Chiellini carrying the badge into every major room in the game, how quickly can the Old Lady turn structure into silverware?
