In 2015, Luis Enrique’s Barcelona won the Champions League final, defeating Juventus 3-1.
In 2017, Real Madrid claimed the title, also beating Juventus, this time 4-1.
In 2023, Manchester City won their first and only Champions League by narrowly edging out Inter 1-0, thanks to a goal from Rodrigo.
And in 2025, PSG secured their maiden Champions League trophy with a historic 5-0 thrashing of Inter Milan—once again, with Luis Enrique on the winning bench.
What do all four finals have in common? The top executive of the losing team was the same in every case.
That would be the veteran Beppe Marotta, who in Italy is often compared to a sort of “Pepe Vélez” figure—a man plagued by bad luck, having now lost four Champions League finals in a row across two different clubs.
Interestingly, Marotta, now 68, currently serves as President/CEO of Inter, after previously being the sporting director at Juventus.
Imagine Deco of Barcelona becoming President of Real Madrid—that’s how unthinkable it would seem in Spain. But in Italy, where the Inter-Juve rivalry is eternal, it actually happened.
Giuseppe Marotta was a legend in his hometown of Varese. He began as a bootboy for players, became a ballboy during matches, and eventually took on the role of sporting director at just 22 years old.
But he truly rose to prominence in 2011, when he took over at Juventus during a barren spell and led the club to nine consecutive Serie A titles.
However, European glory continued to elude him. He came up against Barcelona’s attacking trio and Cristiano Ronaldo’s Real Madrid.
The great Juventus architect eventually left Turin, ironically due to a disagreement over the signing of Cristiano Ronaldo, and transformed from hero to villain by taking the helm at Inter.
In the end, even switching sides hasn’t been enough to deliver the long-awaited Champions League title.
*Mundo Deportivo English.
