OFFICIAL: Juventus down to 10th after 15 point sanction

When a football team signs a player for, let's say, €30 million, they split the cost over the amount of seasons they have signed him for. If the player signs for five seasons, the club spreads the cost as €6 million per year. This way, if they sell him for €25 million, for example, in the second year, they would earn a capital gain of €1 million, as the 24 million which remained would be covered by the 25 which they had just got, and there would be €1 million profit left.  That €1 million would mean the club would have their books in the green despite selling their player for less than they paid for him at the start. 

It will therefore be clear that capital gains are a positive aspect for the clubs to balance their books and respect the 'Financial Fair Play'. The problem with the sport is that the price and value of players is objective. You cannot put an exact price on what a table would cost from a technology shop. A player's price tag is forever changing.

Therefore, if a club falsifies the figures of a certain transfer to benefit themselves in terms of the capital gains, they would be committing a serious crime. That is what happenend with Juventus, who have been investigated for some time and were eventually given a 15 point deduction in Serie A, which means they drop from third to tenth in the league.

The side are now 12 points away from the European spots, while they find themselves 13 points away from the drop zone, meaning they are not in any immediate danger.