Gian Piero Gasperini’s decision to announce Teun Koopmeiners ‘wants to join Juventus’ was sudden and surprising, so what brought him to this situation where Atalanta feel ‘blackmailed’?
The midfielder is under contract until June 2027, so by no stretch of the imagination could he be considered available or in a position to push for the exit.
Despite that, it has been largely known for months – certainly as early as January 2024 – that Juventus had agreed personal terms and the Dutchman would turn down any other proposal if it came in from Inter, Napoli, Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur or elsewhere.
Nonetheless, it was assumed that the matter would be resolved quietly and calmly behind the scenes.
That hope was ended this morning when Gasperini spoke to L’Eco di Bergamo newspaper, revealing the player will no longer train with Atalanta because he is pushing for the Bianconeri.
Timeline of Koopmeiners breakdown
Talking to Dutch media De Telegraaf in late March, Koopmeiners confirmed he asked to leave in the summer if the right offer came along, something the club denied.
The fans were also well aware that Juve were behind it, as during the Europa League celebrations they chanted ‘who doesn’t jump is a Juventino’ and the player merely smiled, standing very still.
The asking price was known to be around €60m and so far the only offer has been around €40m plus €5m in bonuses.
Evidently, with the season starting next weekend, he was no longer prepared to wait around for the clubs to reach an agreement and tried to force their hand.
It is sad that this gesture has ruled Koopmeiners out of the UEFA European Super Cup clash with Real Madrid on August 14 and cast a pall over the huge improvements he made under Gasperini’s guidance.
Always same tacticts from rubentus. Make players lying and force a sale at their current club.
Haters gonna hate…