Juve could be facing an extended time in the lower divisions with the verdicts in the Italian match fixing scandal affecting its revenue.
The Italian club could lose money from TV rights, sponsorship deals and sale of stars.
MILAN: Juventus could be facing an extended time in the lower divisions with the verdicts in the Italian match fixing scandal affecting its revenue and playing talent.
Stripped of its last two Serie A titles and demoted to Serie B with 30 points docked, Juventus could lose four players from Italy's World Cup winning team to clubs looking for star names at fire sale prices.
Juventus will battle just to stay in Serie B with the points penalty, and any losses in high paying TV rights and sponsorship contracts could lengthen the time it takes to eventually get back into the top-flight.
Fiorentina and Lazio were also demoted to Serie B by the sports tribunal on Friday, but AC Milan, owned by former Italian Premier Silvio Berlusconi, stayed in the Serie A with a 15-point deduction.
Juventus - Europe's fourth richest team - is also out of the lucrative Champions League, forfeiting money from TV rights, game day receipts and any prizes it may have won.
Stuart Whitwell, joint manager of the branding agency Intangible Business, projects that Juventus will lose US$ 316 million over the next five years - half of that in the next year alone.
"They need to get back in the Serie A. They need to get back in the Champions league, and get all their sponsorship back. It is a huge reputation issue," Whitwell said.
Defenders Fabio Cannavaro and Gianluca Zambrotta, goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon and midfielder Mauro Camoranesi all start for Italy and Juventus - but are attracting interest elsewhere.
Whitwell says Buffon "was bought for US$ 38 million and he'll want to move on. Everyone knows he's for sale. His value could be US$ 25 million or US$ 19 million) - no one is going to pay more than that."
No sponsors have yet announced they're abandoning the club, but are likely to re-negotiate contracts. "We can continue to work with them, regardless of the ruling of the Italian federation and the decision on any appeal," said Nike spokesman Massimo Giunco, whose company gives Juventus US$ 15 million a year.
Sky TV, noting that Juventus' 14 million fans makes it Italy's most popular team, will broadcast the team in Serie B. But whether it will still pay US$ 119.6 million this season is not yet clear.
Mediaset, which owns the Serie A broadcasting rights, will seek to re negotiate based on the loss of prestige. Any subsequent reduction will affect Juventus.
Only Tamoil, which sponsors Juventus for US$ 129 million over five years, has an out clause in its contract in case of relegation, which it may not exercise. Tamoil declined to comment.
Juventus' share value has plunged about 30 percent since May when the scandal first broke.
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