Juventus: How European Ban Could Set Old Lady Up for Return to Serie A Summit

• Juventus and UEFA have reportedly reached an agreement for them to be excluded from European competitions next season
• The Old Lady qualified for the Europa Conference League, but will not participate
• This comes as a punishment for capital gains financial fraud, which saw them docked 15 Serie A points last season

UEFA may have unknowingly set up Juventus for a return to the summit of Italian football with their agreement of exclusion from European football next season.

It has been a challenging past year for Juventus on and off the pitch, over the gross cross-check of their account books dating back to the COVID-19 period in 2020.

The Old Lady were initially handed a 15-point deduction, but it was reduced to ten points on appeal after they were found guilty in the capital gains fraud case.

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Despite the deduction, Max Allegri's men rallied to qualify for the UEFA Europa Conference League by finishing seventh in the Serie A and could have made it to the Champions League if they had won the Europa League, but Sevilla eliminated them in the semi-final.

Exemption could be a blessing

UEFA have moved to hand their punishment and could exempt Juve from the Conference League next season, leaving the Italian giants to participate in only domestic competitions.

Tutto Sport alleged in May, when the initial punishment was reduced, that Juventus' continued involvement in the proposed European Super League alongside Real Madrid and Barcelona was a factor to consider in their punishment.

The Bianconeri will only participate in the Italian Serie A and Coppa Italia next season, but it could not be a bad sacrifice to pay after all, as they will avoid the tiring trips across Europe and have only one game per week.

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According to UEFA's official website, in the 2010s, Juve only missed out on the Champions League twice, the 2010/11 and 2011/12 seasons, the second of which they won their first Scudetto since 2003 unbeaten under Antonio Conte, and won it nine times consecutively before they were displaced by Inter Milan in 2021.

The Calcio League has had three different winners since then: Inter, AC Milan, and Napoli, for the first time in 33 years last season. However, a European exclusion could set the 36-time Italian champions up to reclaim their league glory.

Pogba fuels Juve exit rumours

Sports Brief reported that Paul Pogba fuelled Juventus exit rumours with a trip to Saudi Arabia over the weekend, where he visited Al-Ittihad's football facilities in Jeddah.

Reports from the Italian media claimed he has an offer of a three-year contract worth €100m from the club which has already poached his France teammates. Karim Benzema and N'Golo Kante.