​As Juventus waited for months for their newly appointed general manager, Damien Comolli, to hire a sporting director to work alongside him, the club’s front office addition that actually materialized was François Modesto. He joined the club as technical director, a role that was far from front-facing and not the kind of position Comolli or Giorgio Chiellini would have preferred publicly, yet one that Comolli clearly intended to fill soon after taking charge last summer. Modesto was officially hired on July 11, 2025.
A year later, Modesto’s departure was officially announced on July 10, 2026. Almost exactly one year after he began his tenure at Juventus, the club confirmed that his time was over. Throughout the 2025-26 season, Modesto became somewhat of a covert figure—rarely seen beyond photos with Comolli before matches or at training—while the Juve front office faced widespread criticism as the team failed to qualify for the Champions League. In hindsight, the massive underachievement of that season appears to have sealed his fate, much as it did for Comolli, signaling another wave of front-office restructuring in the offseason.
Here is Juventus’ official statement about Modesto’s departure. If you’re hoping for an abundance of details or a generous tribute, this message offers neither: Juventus announces that it has reached a mutual agreement with François Modesto regarding the termination of his position as Technical Director, effective today. The Club would like to thank François for his commitment and professionalism throughout his career and wishes him all the best in his professional and personal future. That’s a restrained farewell, reflecting the brevity of Modesto’s year at Continassa and the fact that the man who hired him had already left the club.
The writing has been on the wall since Comolli’s exit from Continassa for the final time last month. With Giovanni Carnevali stepping in as CEO, Modesto’s departure seemed almost inevitable. Carnevali has since appointed Frederic Massara as Chief Football Officer, while Marco Ottolini remains in his role as sporting director. Chiellini, meanwhile, has assumed a more business-oriented position within the front office, leveraging his formal education in business to focus on off-field matters rather than the on-pitch responsibilities he shouldered under Comolli’s regime. It’s a shift that underscores a broader reorganization of Juventus’ football operations in the wake of the club’s latest strategic changes.