The Frenchman accepted personal responsibility for the season's outcome, defended his relationship with coach Luciano Spalletti and outlined how the club intends to rebuild without European football's elite competition next season.
Juventus finished sixth in Serie A, falling out of the top four on the penultimate weekend after a 2-0 defeat at home to Fiorentina that ended their hopes. A 2-2 draw with Torino on the final day confirmed a Europa League place — only their second season outside the Champions League in the past 15 years.
"I take full responsibility for this," Comolli told the assembled media in Turin. "I wake up with a physical pain, with a weight on my shoulders for not having managed to bring the team where we should have brought it. I had never experienced a similar feeling in my career."
He described the Fiorentina defeat as the moment the season broke — not because Juventus were not in control before it, but precisely because they were. They had the Champions League place in their hands and lost it.
"When you are close and you fail, it means something did not work, or more things did not work. I will not look for excuses. But what makes it even more frustrating is that, as a leadership group, we made many positive changes. We updated the performance area, the medical area, the youth sector. We significantly reduced injuries compared to previous years. And yet on the pitch we failed."
He was equally direct in dismissing reports of a breakdown in his working relationship with Spalletti. Italian media, including Tuttosport, had described the dynamic between the two men as "nonexistent" in the final weeks of the season. Comolli rejected that characterisation firmly.
"Many of those reports are false," he said. "My relationship with Luciano has always been good, with constant communication. We meet regularly. Every player who arrived in January, every player who left in January, was decided in total agreement."
He confirmed Spalletti will remain as coach. He also confirmed that the decision was his own recommendation — made to both sporting director Marco Modesto and majority shareholder John Elkann before Spalletti's appointment — and that he exercised the option in the coach's contract to extend the relationship rather than leaving it unresolved.
On the market, Comolli acknowledged adjustments. He indicated Juventus may need to sell one more player than originally anticipated due to financial constraints and the club's ongoing discussions with UEFA over a financial settlement relating to accounts from 2022-23, 2023-24 and 2024-25. He was clear that no departure would leave the squad weaker.
"If someone leaves, that player will be replaced by someone of the same or higher level. This is not about selling and weakening the squad."
On Dušan Vlahović, whose contract situation has dragged on for months, Comolli said discussions have taken place with the Serbian striker and his father, and that further conversations are coming. The power, he acknowledged, now rests with the player.
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Comolli was candid about the performances of summer signings Lois Openda and Edon Zhegrova, accepting that the club had misjudged what the squad and the manager required. Openda had never found his footing after a promising start. Zhegrova, technically gifted, lacked the minutes to demonstrate his value.
"The error is ours," Comolli said of Openda. "We probably brought a player whose characteristics were not entirely suited to Juventus, or a player who was not yet ready. And then we changed manager. When a manager changes, players often get lost."