Juventus director Francesco Calvo sees the 2025 Club World Cup qualification as ‘a huge opportunity to increase the commercial international appeal,’ joking that Manchester United ‘are the Italian Juve.’

The Bianconeri are in the process of moving to a new style of economic sustainability following the points penalty and fines for financial irregularities, so qualifying for the Champions League and the expanded format of the Club World Cup are big injections of cash.

“This is a huge opportunity for us, it was extremely important to qualify for the future of Juventus, not just for economic sustainability, but also to increase the commercial international appeal of the club,” Calvo told Calcio e Finanza.

“Having said that, there is an element of curiosity around how this Club World Cup will work in its first edition, with 32 clubs over a month in the USA.

“It is played between mid-June and mid-July, so we’ll see what impact the tournament will have. The fact it is in the United States is notably interesting, as the North American market is growing, even if not quite at the level of more traditional American sports.

“Hopefully with the 2025 Club World Cup, then the 2026 World Cup and also the arrival of Lionel Messi in MLS, that football can become to really break through.”

Calvo discussed the opening of Juventus offices in Hong Kong and Milan, even joking “every now and then I dream of having a club based in Milan, but there are already two teams and there wouldn’t be room. Having said that, we are proud to represent Turin in the world.”

Juventus have often been compared to Manchester United for their history, size and the ability to capture many fans who are not local.

They are also one of the few Italian clubs to be floated on the stock exchange.

“The stock exchange makes no difference commercially, but there are certain obligations of transparency for example on transfers, whereas you’d struggle to get specific figures from other clubs.

“Does it give the impression we are like the Italian Manchester United? I prefer to think of them as the English Juventus! As for the benefits of being on the stock exchange, I think Juventus were always run like a business even before that.”

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