Carnevali admits Juventus 'made mistakes' as capital injection needed, says players must earn bonuses

Carnevali: mistakes were made and bonuses must be earned

Juventus CEO Giovanni Carnevali has admitted that the club required a capital injection from its owners due to mistakes made in the past, and insisted that players will have to earn any competition bonuses this season. He spoke to Sky Sport Italia ahead of Juventus's Europa League clash with Celta Vigo in Galicia on Thursday evening.

Juventus, who kick off at 20.00 BST (21.00 CET), are playing their second Europa League match of the season after a 5-0 win over NEC before the international break.

Aiming high in Europe

Carnevali said he hopes Juventus go as far as possible in the competition this term. "It's an international competition, so a club like Juventus should aim to progress as far forwards as possible. It will be a difficult game, but a team like ours must give its best," he said.

Nico Gonzalez future

Carnevali was also asked about the recent contract extension handed to Nico Gonzalez, who spent the 2025-26 season on loan at Atletico Madrid. "As far as we're concerned, Nico was nailed down here, we didn't want to get rid of him. We've kept our word and I think he wants to be here too."

Settling into the role

Carnevali has only a few months in the job, having joined from Sassuolo at the start of the summer. "It's a big challenge, but there's a lot of passion and desire. We're a big club with big ambitions and big pressure, and a lot of the time, that involves me and the whole team. It's a good thing. I'm convinced we'll do well. It takes time to build things, but we're working on it."

Capital injection and mistakes

Asked whether the recent €250m capital increase from the club's owners would be used to sign new players in the January transfer window, Carnevali thanked the owners for their investment but acknowledged past errors. "We have to say thank you to our owners, who have made some big investments. I'm passionate about working here and some mistakes have been made in the past, because if we need capital injections, it means some mistakes must have been made. We have to try and improve ourselves and bring success to the fans."

Bonuses on the line

On competition bonuses for players, Carnevali kept the message firm. "We have to think about tonight's game before anything else. We have to try and get off on the right foot given the difficulties we will face tonight and in our next few games. We will need to earn a bonus."