Italian football star talks 'hell' imprisonment after international drug trafficking charge

Martin Macdonald

• 30 Mar 2026 10:30 CDT
• 5 min read

News

Former Juventus star Michele Padovano has recalled the hellish period he found himself in prison after being falsely accused of being an international drug trafficker.

An iconic figure in Italian football in the 1990s, he played for a number of teams in the country, including Cosenza, Napoli, Pisa and Reggiana.

It would be at Juventus that he would truly make his mark, however, as he was part of the squad that won the 1996 UEFA Champions League after the Bianconeri defeated Ajax on penalties after a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome.

En route to the final, Padovano scored a vital goal in the quarter-final against Real Madrid.

Overall with Juventus, he won the Champions League, on Serie A, two Suppercoppa Italiana titles, the UEFA Super Cup and the Intercontinental Cup.

Unfortunately for him, he's known for his exploits off the pitch more than on it, as in 2006 he was arrested by Italian police on suspicion of financing the smuggling of hashish.

He spent several months in prison and under house arrest, and was later convicted and sentenced to prison, though he always denied the charges. After a long series of appeals lasting over a decade, the case was ultimately overturned, and in 2023 he was fully acquitted by Italy’s highest court, which cleared him of all wrongdoing and brought an end to the case.

It was a 17-year ordeal that he still reflects upon every day.

“It was absolutely hell, especially because I always knew I was innocent and completely unconnected to the events," Padovano told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

"I fought for seventeen years against an injustice; prison took my life away from me, and now I’ve got it back. For me, the acquittal is worth as much as winning the Champions League.”

The former Juventus striker says the toughest part of his fight for justice was how he was treated by prison guards while incarcerated and being apart form his wife.

"The hardest moment? There were many, probably solitary confinement," he explained.

"Spending many days without seeing anyone makes you feel lost. It’s a feeling hard to put into words; it feels as though time never passes. What’s more, my wife was also under investigation at the time — though the case was dropped after seven months — and we couldn’t even call each other.

"Finally, the way the guards treated me: it was really tough. I think it was partly because I was a footballer. One prison guard told me, ‘You can shove your money up your arse now.’ Things from another world. The police addressed me informally, treating me like a doormat. They tried to trample on my dignity from the very first moment.”

How did Padovano come to be accused?

The man himself has explained how he believes the authorities came to accuse him of being involved with drug smuggling around Europe.

"It all started because I lent some money to a friend," the Italian revealed.

"I’d known him for ages. I was doing well financially and it wasn’t a problem for me to help someone in trouble – quite the opposite, in fact. But I didn’t know what he’d do with those 35,000 euros. I wasn’t aware of anything. I just told him, ‘I know you’re a bit of a troublemaker, so I’ll give the money to your wife’. But I meant it in a good-natured way

"Instead, our innocent phone calls were mistaken for coded messages with encrypted words. We were talking about ‘horse’, ‘crane’ and ‘land’, and to the investigators these were code names relating to cocaine shipments. Fortunately, the truth prevailed. Of course, nobody will give me back everything I’ve lost.

“Was I ever afraid I wouldn’t make it? After the two setbacks in the early stages of the trial, a bit, yes. More than anything, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to prove my innocence. But I fought like a lion and never gave up. Tenacity is the quality I most recognise in myself; I was like that on the pitch too.”

The support from Vialli

Padovano says that a number of ex-colleagues and friends turned their back on him due to the criminal charges, but one of the only people to remain by his side was his fellow Champions League winner, Gianluca Vialli.

"Has the world of football turned its back on me? Many have turned their backs on me and let me down – that much is true," he confessed.

"Everything I’ve been through has helped me sort things out. I realised who my true friends are and who was only there for their own gain. When I was arrested, I had stopped playing and was working as general manager at Alessandria. Prison shut the doors of the world and of football to me; in an instant, it seems as though nobody remembers you anymore.

"Luca Vialli was like a brother to me; I know he used to ring my wife Adriana every week to ask how I was getting on. We’ve always been very close; when we played for Juventus we were always together, just as we were in London. It pains me to think he didn’t live to see my acquittal – he of all people, who always told me I’d be cleared and always supported me – but I’m sure he was celebrating up in heaven."

Vialli sadly passed away from cancer in 2023 at the age of 58.

Since his acquittal in 2023, Padova has carved out a career for himself in the media as he works as a commentator and analyst for Sky Sports Italy.

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