Make Juventus Great Again. The match that Tether is playing to secure a leading role in top-tier football has just begun. But in the meantime, the world’s most widely used stablecoin — which in recent months has gathered a substantial packet of Juventus shares — has registered the trademark MJGA, Make Juventus Great Again. The acronym recalls the slogan that Donald Trump used to win two U.S. presidential campaigns and which — who knows when — we might see printed on caps and T-shirts worn by Juventus fans.

Even though John Elkann appears to have no intention of selling the club coached by Luciano Spalletti, which has been tied to the Agnelli family for over a century, on the opposite side of the pitch Giancarlo Devasini, Paolo Ardoino, and Ludovicus Van der Velde, the creators and owners of the cryptocurrency, seem determined to gain increasing weight in the club’s shareholding.

At the latest Juventus shareholders’ assembly, Tether turned up with an 11.5% stake in the club. The majority of shares remain firmly in the hands of Exor, making it impossible for Tether to gain control without an agreement with the Elkanns. But should that ever happen, it would be sensational: Juventus would become the first major European football club controlled by a company based in El Salvador. Tether, in fact, is now fully a Salvadoran group.

The Move to San Salvador

It all began about a year ago. Between January 2024 and late 2025, Devasini, Ardoino, and Van der Velde transferred the entire Tether corporate galaxy from the British Virgin Islands to El Salvador. More than 20 entities were registered in San Salvador, the capital of the Central American country that became a crypto haven thanks to President Nayib Bukele, a strongman leader and Trump ally who enacted laws to make El Salvador the world’s most attractive jurisdiction for virtual currencies.

The group’s financial statements are not public, and the reports released are not certified — only “attested” by auditing firm BDO. It is therefore difficult to analyze Tether’s assets with certainty. What is certain is that three buildings in central San Salvador now hold the records and documents of the companies owned by Devasini, Ardoino, and Van der Velde.

The most important, at least at the start of the story, is Edificio Torre Futura, where on the 11th floor attorney-notary José Daniel Julio Martínez Martínez heads the legal team of Dentons, a multinational law firm — first in the world by number of lawyers and sixth by turnover, with offices in Beijing, London, Washington, and 183 locations in 73 countries.

Daniel Martínez is the man who, on January 21, 2025, registered Tether Holdings, the parent company of the Tether empire, previously domiciled in the British Virgin Islands. Tether Holdings controls, together with Tether Operations, Tether International, the company that directly issues the stablecoin tokens. These three entities govern Tether’s multibillion-dollar empire, which in 2024 posted net earnings of $13 billion with assets exceeding $20 billion.

Make Juventus Great Again

But let’s return to January 21, 2025. That day — according to documents held in El Salvador — Dentons’ legal staff showed up almost in full force before the Salvadoran Commercial Registry. Present were chief attorney Martínez, colleagues David Aguilar and Ricardo Milla, accompanied by Paolo Ardoino. The four divided up the registration of the nine companies recorded that day.

Martínez registered the most important in his capacity as legal representative: Tether Holdings, whose corporate purpose is the “management of digital platforms for the issuance, custody, and exchange of all types of digital assets.” Its declared capital that day amounted to $96.8 million.

Another Dentons attorney, Ricardo Milla, registered Tether Operations, another top-level company, despite its tiny capital of $2,000. It is crucial: Tether Operations owns 51 trademarks, ranging from all variants of Tether, USDT, GBPT, AUSDT, to Alloy by Tether, Proof of the Steak, Unstoppable Together, EURT, Forge by Tether, OpenEvo, Hadron by Tether, and others.

But the most curious trademark was filed on March 14, 2025, and officially accepted by the European patent authorities on July 2. It consists of four capital letters: MJGA.

What does it mean? Even though the Juventus name does not appear in the filing, the acronym almost certainly stands for Make Juventus Great Again.

The phrase appears in a Tether press release from October 16, 2025, announcing the company’s nominations for the Juventus Board: “As stated on several occasions, Tether is committed to becoming a positive force of change within the Club, an ambition encapsulated in our guiding principle: Make Juventus Great Again.”

Tether’s elected board member is Francesco Garino, a doctor specializing in orthognathodontics. But according to Bloomberg, the intended representative was originally supposed to be Juan Sartori, a Uruguayan businessman and politician, co-owner of Sunderland (Premier League) and vice president of AS Monaco. His appointment fell through because UEFA regulations prohibit board members from holding roles in two clubs participating in the same competition — both Juventus and Monaco play in the Champions League.

Van der Velde and Devasini in El Salvador

Returning again to El Salvador: on January 21, 2025, Dentons attorney David Aguilar registered Tether International, the third major entity, the one issuing the tokens. Ardoino, in his capacity as legal representative, registered other entities such as Tether Hadron and Tether Infrastructure.

The corporate migration to El Salvador had actually begun exactly one year earlier, January 21, 2024, when Ludovicus Jan Van der Velde personally handled the incorporation of Tether Holdings El Salvador and then several other companies.

More entities followed throughout the year, including Moon Gold El Salvador, Moon Gold NA, and Bitfinex Derivatives, all registered at Torre Futura.

The most recently created companies have new legal headquarters, including the Presidente Plaza glass skyscraper and a white-and-red building housing a different law firm. These were registered by Giancarlo Devasini himself and Omar Rossi, listed as legal representative of Tether Genesis.

Today, Presidente Plaza has become the new headquarters of Tether Holdings and Tether Investments.

The Three Billionaires

In just a few years, Devasini, Ardoino, and Van der Velde have climbed the Forbes ranking of the world’s richest people.

Giancarlo Devasini reached a net worth of $22.4 billion in 2025, up from $9.2 billion the previous year. A U.S. SEC document dated July 2, 2025, states he controls more than 50% of voting rights in Tether Holdings.

According to records in the French Alpes-Maritimes, Devasini moved his residence from Lugano to Roquebrune-Cap-Martin, where he owns companies — one operating a fast-food restaurant, another a beach restaurant (Le Cabanon), and another in real estate — all linked to a villa overlooking the Côte d’Azur.

Paolo Ardoino, CEO of Tether and CTO of Bitfinex, has a net worth of $9.5 billion, up from $3.9 billion in 2024. He previously declared residency in Lugano; his current domicile is unknown. Forbes attributes 20% ownership of Tether to him.

Van der Velde is also estimated at $9.5 billion, with a similar stake.

On the other side, Exor posted €14.6 billion in profits in 2024 with net assets of €38.2 billion. Tether, meanwhile, produced $30 billion in net profits over the last three years and issued $181 billion in crypto — impressive numbers, even though the group’s accounts are unaudited.

This is a clash among giants: Elkann versus the three billionaires led by Devasini. Whether the former cosmetic surgeon will succeed in achieving his vision — Make Juventus Great Again — remains to be seen. But for now, he has secured the right to print MJGA on luggage, bags, wallets, clothing, hats, sports equipment, toys, and trinkets. Everything a Juventus fan might want.