Top Italian Soccer Clubs Call for Exit of Serie A League Boss Dal Pino

(Bloomberg) -- A group of top Italian soccer clubs have called for the ousting of the head of their domestic league, throwing fresh doubt on a crucial injection of private equity money into Serie A.

Seven teams, including Juventus Football Club SpA and FC Internazionale Milano, asked league boss Paolo Dal Pino to step down in a letter dated April 14. The clubs didn’t elaborate on their motivation for seeking his resignation, according to a copy of the letter seen by Bloomberg News. At least eight Serie A teams would need to back such a motion in order for it to be added to the agenda at an official league meeting.

Representatives for Dal Pino and Serie A declined to comment. A representative for Juventus didn’t immediately provide comment, while a spokesperson for Internazionale couldn’t immediately be reached. Contents of the letter were reported earlier Thursday by Il Sole 24 Ore.

Dal Pino has been working to broker a deal for new money for Serie A, home to players including Cristiano Ronaldo and Zlatan Ibrahimovic, after years of underinvestment. The league and its teams, which saw their finances further hit by the Covid-19 pandemic, in October entered exclusive talks to sell a roughly $2 billion stake in a new Serie A media company to CVC Capital Partners, Advent International and Italy’s FSI fund.

Discussions hit a snag in February when some of Serie A’s 20 clubs raised concerns about the terms of the deal.

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