Juventus Confirm Massimiliano Allegri Will Step Down as Manager

Massimiliano Allegri is set to leave as manager of Juventus, the club have confirmed. 

The Bianconeri made the announcement in a brief statement on Friday, with a press conference to come on Saturday with Allegri and president Andrea Agnelli in attendance.

The Italian had one year remaining on his contract in Turin.

Juve have two matches left to play in Serie A this season, Atalanta on Sunday in their final home game and a trip to Sampdoria on May 26.

The Old Lady have already won the Scudetto for the eighth campaign running, five of which were delivered by Allegri.

He has enjoyed a great deal of success as Juventus manager:

Impressively, he kept them consistently successful despite losing an important player almost every season, including Andrea Pirlo, Paul Pogba, Arturo Vidal and Gianluigi Buffon, among others.

Allegri also guided the team to the UEFA Champions League final in 2015 and 2017, where they lost to Barcelona and Real Madrid, respectively.

Despite the addition of Cristiano Ronaldo last summer, Juve failed to kick on in Europe and were knocked out in the quarter-finals by Ajax, having lost 2-1 at home in the second leg after picking up a 1-1 draw in Amsterdam.

Italian football expert David Amoyal and ESPN's Janusz Michallik both felt it was the right time for the club and coach to go their separate ways:

Per Corriere dello Sport (h/t Goal's Stephen Creek), Tottenham Hotspur boss Mauricio Pochettino has been linked with Juventus this summer.

As football writer Daniel Storey noted, Tottenham fans won't appreciate Juve's announcement:

By announcing the decision when they have, Juventus will be able to give Allegri the send-off he deserves at the Allianz Stadium on Sunday and they have time to prepare for next season.

Given his CV—which also includes a Scudetto with AC Milan in 2010-11—it's unlikely he'll be without work at the top level of European football for long.

Calciomercato.com reported Paris Saint-Germain are monitoring his situation closely after they suffered a Champions League collapse under Thomas Tuchel, letting slip a 2-0 lead over Manchester United in the round of 16 with a 3-1 defeat at the Parc des Princes.

Whomever replaces him in Turin, be it Pochettino or another candidate, will have an enormous job on their hands to replicate his success.