Francesco Calvo is set to join Aston Villa as Chris Heck's replacement
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Aston Villa will appoint Francesco Calvo
Aston Villa will appoint Francesco Calvo(Image: Getty Images)
Juventus chief Francesco Calvo will replace Chris Heck as Aston Villa’s president of business operations.
Heck will leave Villa at the end of the season after deciding to move back to the United States to be closer to his family, the club said.
After joining the club in May 2023, he will not be renewing his contract, and Villa will have Calvo in place before the commencement of the 2025/26 campaign.
Under Heck, and thanks to the club’s rapid progress on the pitch - which culminated in qualification for Champions League football last season - Villa’s revenues have been growing.
It’s now Calvo’s job to continue that trend and work closely with the club’s football department to deliver results.
What is Calvo’s background?
Calvo, who speaks perfect English, is no stranger to Villa’s footballing department.
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He worked with Monchi, albeit briefly, at Roma when he served as their chief financial officer and then chief operating officer between 2018 and 2022.
His performance alongside Monchi is a key reason why Villa have moved to appoint the Italian.
Calvo first joined Juventus in 2011 as commercial director and was promoted to chief revenue officer in 2014. From 2015 to 2018, he held the same position at FC Barcelona.
After his spell at Roma, Calvo returned to Juventus in April 2022 as chief of staff, and less than a year later, he was appointed chief football officer.
Tapping into global markets with Barcelona
It is understood that Villa were particularly impressed by Calvo’s football expertise and strong track record in the game.
In the three years he spent at Barcelona, their revenue increased year on year.
After the club posted revenues of €561m in 2014/15, this figure rose to €620m in Calvo’s first season at the club.
Revenue then increased to €648m in 2016/17 and to €690m in 2017/18. So, in the three years he spent in Catalonia, the club's revenue grew by around €130m.
Interviewed backstage at the Leaders Sport Business Summit in New York in March 2017, Calvo discussed how he developed the Barcelona brand and revealed the club’s target growth territories.
“The biggest market, which is a continent, is Asia,” he explained five years ago. “Asia is the fastest growing continent and market. Investments are growing a lot.
“It is difficult to understand Asia because there are countries that are different from each other. We have an office in Hong Kong and we operate with different cultures. There are 16 different people and we speak 13 different languages in the office.
“China, needless to say. It is very difficult because we need to work out how European football can develop in China. We need to understand also how China can help European football to develop.
“I don’t think anyone has yet found the route to being successful in China. We have several projects in China and we are seeing that 10 years from now we could capitalise on.
“The USA is an important market. We have an office, which is commercially driven, but also PR, the development of US sport. There are many things we can learn from their sport and sport business.”
Former Barcelona player Neymar
Former Barcelona player Neymar
He added: “Brazil is an important one. It is an enormous country. Not really a stable economy, but we have the biggest Brazilian athlete [Neymar], so we want to understand with him how we can reach fans and communicate with them.
“Players these days can be competitors (in business). We have to work closely with them so that doesn’t happen. It is difficult and we have to set expectations at the beginning.
“Being the most successful club with the best players in the world, we need players to focus on sport rather than commercial deals. Finding the right balance is hard to achieve.
“The most valuable asset is the name of the players, if we can call players assets. In terms of physical assets, the jersey is the most physical asset.
“We have a lot of intangible assets, like the Catalan identity and we represent the nation. We need to be able to communicate and sell, even though I don’t like to say ‘sell’.”
Representing a club's values and fan experience
In that same interview, it was interesting to hear Calvo speak about connecting with fans and understanding the privileged position he holds within a football club.
“Being able to represent the club and its values,” he said when asked what keeps him up at night. “We always stress to the players and stokeholds, we have to represent the club how the members expect us to.
“Working in sport, with Juventus, Ferrari and now Barcelona, we are privileged because we work with the dreams of the people.
“People expect a lot from us. It doesn’t keep me awake at night, but if there is one worry it is this one.”
Aside from already having worked with Monchi at Roma and owning a strong track record in generating revenue for some of the biggest clubs on the globe, there are a few tasks Calvo has dealt with in the past that could be on his to-do list when he arrives at Villa.
Allianz Stadum
Allianz Stadum(Image: Getty Images)
When he first joined Juventus, he was part of the team that delivered their new stadium. Villa have started the process of expanding Villa Park.
Adjacent to the Allianz Stadium is the huge Area 12 shopping centre, and there are facilities that can be used 365 days a year.
Calvo, the business manager back then, highlighted how the experience of a sporting event changes with a new stadium.
He said: “Hospitality is the first step to changing the mentality of the fan. The stadium is not only a venue for football matches; it is a whole world waiting to be discovered that includes excellent services, entertainment and events dedicated to the various audiences. The Premium Club offers the opportunity to bring together football and companies.”
He continued: “The revenue from stadiums in our country represents just 13% of the clubs’ revenue, as compared to 27% in England or Germany. As for Juventus, last year we earned about €11m from the stadium.
“Even though we maintained the same prices, we expect to achieve €32m, thanks to the increased capacity, the naming rights and the additional services, such as the Juventus Premium Club.”
Last month, Villa announced their final plans to expand the North Stand, which will take Villa Park’s capacity over 50,000.
Villa’s current president of business operations, Heck, implemented many hospitality offerings at Villa Park for fans.
He has also helped reimagine the North Grounds are of Villa Park, with The Warehouse set to open before the end of the year next to the fully refurbished club shop.
Juventus controversy and 'cleaning up the mess'
Calvo started his second stint at Juventus on April 1, 2022, as chief of staff, just days after the club was hit with a 15-point deduction following investigations into financial violations committed under their previous regime.
The Bianconeri were sanctioned, with former president Andrea Agnelli and the rest of his board resigning in November 2021. Both he and former director Fabio Paratici were handed hefty bans.
The club then confirmed Calvo would become their new CFO, reporting to new chief executive officer Maurizio Scanavino, who was appointed shortly before him.
In 2023, Juventus recorded the 11th-highest commercial revenue in Europe at €194m. Club-driven sponsorship and commercial revenues are the largest financial differentiator between the very top clubs and the rest.
Meanwhile, Juventus paid the 10th-highest wage bill in Europe in 2023 but managed to save 20 percent compared to the previous year.
In 2024, Villa actually paid out a higher wage bill than Juventus, with the Italian club paying €264m and Villa €292m.
Driving down wages is also on the agenda at Villa with Monchi, after exceeding UEFA’s wage-to-turnover ratio last season - and likely this term too.
In September 2017, Juve’s ex-president Agnelli was banned for one year by the Italian FA for his role in selling tickets to hard-core "ultra" fans that encouraged ticket touting.
Calvo and ticketing director Stefano Merulla were also handed one-year suspensions.
Each of the four was also fined €20,000 for violating sporting integrity and illicit relations with fans. Juventus, however, denied any wrongdoing.
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