Leonardo Bonucci and his agent Alessandro Lucci have been accused of illegally poaching players from other representatives. The federal prosecutive Giuseppe Chiné is evaluating whether to open an investigation after a complaint by AIACS, one of the agents’ associations, Il Messaggero reports.
According to the accusers, the duo pressures the potential new clients to lure them to the World Soccer Agency, founded by Lucci. Their MO includes constant text messages and promises of richer contracts and a national team call-up. They operate routinely inside the Juventus and the Italy locker room.
Lucci is one of the most influential agents in Serie A and currently represents the likes of Edin Dzeko, Alessandro Florenzi, Mattia Perin, Luis Muriel, and Daniele De Rossi. His behavior and potential infractions will be evaluated by a federal commission dedicated to the agents’ conduct.
His most recent acquisitions, Dejan Kulusevski, Gaetano Castrovilli and Gianluca Scamacca, are now under review. The separation between the Genoa striker and his previous representative Paolo Paloni had already spilled over the courtroom, and a court of CONI, the Italian Olympic Committee, will have to certify the validity of the contract. The Swedish starlet was reportedly enlisted at World Soccer Agency without his knowledge.
Bonucci has been cited directly, but he is not the only player involved in this war between agents. The intermediary Giovanni Branchini told Calciomercato.com: “The word of mouth between players is logical and always legitimate. It is instead different if a member of the national team applies pressure to switch agent.”