Gian Piero Gasperini clarifies that he didn’t want to offend Ademola Lookman and reveals he won’t sign any other extension with Atalanta: ‘At the end of the season, we’ll see whether to let the contract run out or stop earlier.’
Atalanta’s Champions League exit at the hands of Club Brugge had more serious consequences than one would imagine.
Coach Gasperini blamed Lookman for taking a penalty kick in Tuesday’s home loss, saying that the striker was “one of the worst penalty kick takers” he had ever seen.
The Nigeria international hit back, saying that Gasp’s words had been disrespectful, prompting the club to arrange a summit to calm waters.
Lookman had returned to action as a substitute on Tuesday after missing the previous matches with an injury and scored Atalanta’s only goal of the night against Club Brugge.
“He had an extraordinary impact. My words were never meant to be offensive,” Gasperini said at a press conference on Saturday via TMW.
Gasperini even mentioned the Lorenzo Lucca incident in Udinese’s win over Lecce on Friday.
Gasperini’ didn’t mean to offend’ Lookman, but hints at Atalanta exit
“Yesterday, in Udinese-Lecce, we saw what could have turned into a global spectacle, but fortunately, the players let it go,” he said.
“I would have liked to see a great player like him [Lookman] make a gesture toward [Charles] De Ketelaere, saying, ‘Come on, take the ball, put it in.’ He could become a penalty taker, adding another scoring ability. But I almost feel like there’s a narrative being pushed that Atalanta are in chaos when the reality is quite different.
“I always speak in front of the whole team, this has never even been an issue within the club,” continued Gasperini.
“The player felt offended, but I never intended to offend anyone. In the end, I think it turned out well because there was no unnecessary drama.
“I also appreciated what happened in the Udinese game, with both the players and the coach. Lookman came on against Brugge in an extraordinary way, and his gesture, even if generous, doesn’t change my opinion.”
Gasperini left the most surprising line for his last answer of today’s press conference, revealing that he would leave the club at the end of his contract in 2026, if not earlier.
Gasperini argued that having Atalanta in the third spot in Serie A is a “fantastic achievement,” but then added: “Qualifying for the Europa League is a great accomplishment too, but we all agree on one thing. If you want to experience different emotions, you have to aim higher. Otherwise, it’s just more of the same.
“I don’t have much time left to do this; maybe this is the last chance. As has been said, there’s a beginning and an end. At the end of the year, we’ll see whether to let the contract run out or stop earlier, but there definitely won’t be any continuity. There will be no further renewals or extensions.”
An now Atalanta will loose an excellent player and probably their best ever manager because of an argument that has been blown out of all proportions, both involved have done things wrong but only one really seems to be paying the penalty as Lookman would be leaving at the end of the season anyway.
But, I am sure the big teams will be loving this as yet another challenger will fall by the wayside and they can go back to dominating everything and keeping the status quo.