Arjun Menon
Fabio Paratici returns to Tottenham as joint sporting director
Tottenham Hotspur have confirmed that Fabio Paratici will rejoin the club as joint sporting director, 30 months after receiving a FIFA ban. The 53-year-old will share the role with Johan Lange and oversee the men’s football strategy, including performance development, scouting and recruitment.
Paratici left the club in April 2023 after his appeal against a 30-month FIFA suspension for financial irregularities was rejected by Italy’s highest sports court. The sanction related to his time at Juventus, where he served as sporting director and managing director before joining Spurs in 2021. Juventus were found guilty of false accounting and were docked 10 points in Serie A.
Last month a judge in Rome accepted a plea bargain request submitted by Paratici and other former Juventus executives, a move that means he will not serve an 18-month prison sentence. Plea deals under Italian procedure do not involve an admission of guilt or any acceptance of liability.
“I’m delighted to be returning to a club that I love,” Paratici said. “I have been working with Johan, Vinai [Venkatesham] and Thomas [Frank] as a consultant for a number of months and I now look forward to returning to London and joining the team full-time. I’m convinced that working in partnership with Johan we can build a special future for the club and our supporters.”
Tottenham say they will finalise the new leadership by appointing a director of football operations to work alongside Paratici and Lange. Until that appointment is made, the club’s women’s team will remain under the direct control of Vinai Venkatesham.
What this means for Spurs
Paratici’s return signals a clear focus on recruitment and long-term performance planning. He has already been involved with the club in a consultancy capacity for several months, and the full-time switch restores him to the same senior role he held before his resignation.
Recruitment, scouting and the development pathway will sit at the centre of the sporting department’s brief. The new director of football operations will be tasked with joining those strands, working between the board and the coaching staff.
For supporters, the immediate change is familiar faces back in a leadership position; the longer-term test will be whether the reshuffle translates into results on the pitch.