OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Juventus, Igor Tudor agree to two-year contract extension

It wasn’t so long ago that the tone of Igor Tudor’s voice after Juventus’ season-ending win over Venezia made it sound like even he wasn’t sure if he was going to be around for the upcoming Club World Cup in the United States.

Just a few short yet very rollercoaster-y weeks later, there’s much more clarity on Tudor’s situation at Juventus. And a new contract to boot.

Juventus announced on the eve of their departure to the United States for the Club World Cup that Tudor has agreed to a contract extension through 2027, a fitting next step after new general manager Damien Comolli confirmed Tudor as the club’s head coach for next season earlier in the week during his introductory press conference. As part of the contract extension that Tudor has signed Friday, Tudor will also have an option to extend his contract by another season for the 2027-28 campaign, although the conditions of that are still relatively unknown and what conditions may be attached to it.

Tudor will reportedly receive a salary of around €2.5 million net per season as part of the new contract.

Here is part of the announcement posted to the Juventus website on Friday:

Passion. Charisma. Juventus spirit.

Words that perfectly capture what Igor Tudor has brought to Juventus since taking over the Men’s First Team in late March – and what he will continue to represent in the years ahead.

It’s now official: Tudor has renewed his contract with Juventus. The Croatian coach will lead the Men’s First Team until 30 June, 2027, with an option to extend by another year until 30 June, 2028. His next challenge begins this summer, as the team head to the United States for their first competitive fixture at the FIFA Club World Cup.

So there you go. Just as we said earlier in the week when Tudor was confirmed as Juventus’ manager for next season, this was the next logical step to give 47-year-old Croatian a little bit more job security compared to how he was feeling just a few short weeks ago. What he is able to do with it remains to be seen, but the uncertainty of being hired under the circumstances he arrived with in March after Juventus fired Thiago Motta and then achieving the lone target that Juve had left was something that had Tudor clearly feeling like he had done enough to stick around.

While Juventus had certainly looked to other options — namely Antonio Conte, who decided to stick with Napoli for a second season after their title-winning campaign — the reality ended up being stick with the guy who helped them secure a Champions League spot for next season during his nine-game tenure as interim head coach.

Now we get to see what Tudor can do with a little more time to implement his ideas and philosophy on this team, albeit during a summer that is far, far from a “normal” one. (Do those even exist anymore considering how many games these guys have to play each year?)