Aston Villa’s recently appointed President of Business Operations Francesco Calvo has declared his joy and pride at being a part of the club.
[Il Bianconero](https://www.ilbianconero.com/liste/francesco-calvo-aston-villa-che-orgoglio-la-juventus-un-eccezione/bltada2e1a28b5bb1b3#csad9eb293921f018a) cover comments from him today after he appeared on Sky in Italy to discuss Aston Villa and Juventus.
Calvo was appointed at the beginning of June as Aston Villa continue to grow the team behind the scenes to continue their expansion under Unai Emery and Monchi’s guidance.
He joined from Italian giants Juventus where he had been Managing Director of Revenue and Institutional Relationships.
He was responsible for all revenue streams and relationships at the Italian giants, including with the likes of FIFA, UEFA and Serie A.
He’d previously held several other leadership roles over two spells with them and also worked in senior management positions at FC Barcelona and Roma as well.
This role at Villa Park is his first outside of Italy or Spain, meaning he has had to spend the last few months becoming accustomed to the Premier League as Aston Villa look to continue their growth and establish themselves among the elite.
He is seemingly loving life at Villa Park so far, though, and believes Italy have something to learn from England too.
“A new experience. I’ve been at Aston Villa for a month, and it’s a source of pride,” he said.
“Representing a club that is part of the history of English football is a source of great pride, a world different from the rest of football for many reasons. Italian football needs to find its own path.
“The Premier League is far ahead economically and culturally, and today it’s on a different planet compared to the other leagues. There’s more financial availability, and it makes things less difficult.
“Juventus was one of the few exceptions, but Italian football is more governed by the bosses, more tied to the presidents. In England, however, the management has more freedom of action, a significant cultural shift compared to Italy.”