Atalanta captain Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez admits he had dinner with Atletico Madrid Coach Diego Simeone and still dreams of going to La Liga.
The Argentine managed to earn four caps for his country at the age of 29 thanks to his remarkable performances in Bergamo.
“In 2012, before I went to Metalist Kharkiv, I had dinner with Simeone in Buenos Aires, because he wanted me to join Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, Catania wanted too much money,” Papu told Marca in Spain.
Atalanta captain Alejandro ‘Papu’ Gomez admits he had dinner with Atletico Madrid Coach Diego Simeone and still dreams of going to La Liga.
The Argentine managed to earn four caps for his country at the age of 29 thanks to his remarkable performances in Bergamo.
“In 2012, before I went to Metalist Kharkiv, I had dinner with Simeone in Buenos Aires, because he wanted me to join Atletico Madrid. Unfortunately, Catania wanted too much money,” Papu told Marca in Spain.
“I wanted to go to Madrid, but it wasn’t up to me. It was really disappointing, as that would’ve been an important step forward in my career.”
The pair had already worked together, because Simeone was briefly the Coach of Catania in Serie A in 2011.
“It was Simeone at Catania who changed my role and moved me to the flank. I didn’t like it at first, because I was not accustomed to defending and sacrificing myself for the team.
“He got angry and could see I wasn’t enjoying myself, but in the end his advice was absolutely right.”
What would Gomez do if Simone asked for another reunion in Madrid?
“It’s not up to me. I have a contract with Atalanta, where I am happy and the people love me. Obviously, I’d love to play in Spain, as it’s a league where my characteristics would really stand out and be used to the full.”