Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi has confirmed that the club have an agreement to allow Ademola Lookman to leave this summer, but not for teams within Serie A, which further complicates proceedings with Inter, who had a reasonable bid for the Nigeria international rejected last week.
Lookman has come to blows with Atalanta after seeing an offer of €45m including bonuses from Inter turned down by his current employers.
The 27-year-old has since posted a long statement on Instagram, claiming that there was an agreement to allow him to leave this summer, and accusing the club of treating him poorly “as a human being and as a professional footballer.”
- Read more: How Lookman came to blows with Atalanta
Lookman has also confirmed that he has submitted a formal transfer request in an attempt to leave Atalanta.
Percassi confirms: Two conditions for Lookman to leave Atalanta
Dea CEO Percassi has since had an opportunity to share his version of events while speaking to the media at the introductory press conference for new Atalanta goalkeeper Marco Sportiello.
Percassi told the press that there is an agreement to let Lookman leave this summer, but with two important conditions: First being that it is to a ‘top’ European club, and the second being that that club is outside Serie A.
“It’s a good opportunity to clarify what happened,” Percassi told the media, via TMW.
“Last year, after a 20 million offer from PSG, the player had asked us to be sold.
“Atalanta, being a credible club, had promised to sell the player this window based on two conditions that he himself had asked of us: First, to go to a super, top European club, and that he would never be seen in Italy wearing a shirt other than Atalanta’s, given what he did for the club and what he received from the club.
“Today, as you know, the situation is very different. The club is always careful when evaluating the value and timing of its players, but as always, it is Atalanta, the club, that decides.”
Atalanta is small club with a small mentality.
A small club that won the Europa League only a season ago and in recent seasons has been cosntantly in the top 5 of Serie A, and therefore, repeatedly compeating in Europe against some of the best teams in the World. And earlier this transfer window broke the Italian players sale record.
Not bad for a small team!
Not a small team but still not fair and doesn’t see the bigger picture where top players leave Italy and only return as senior citizens. Why not keep Lookman in Serie A? What’s the big deal if he plays for Inter? Why didn’t that logic apply for Koopmeiners?
thank you Rechnin. The best run team in Serie A the past 5 years.
….still small club with small mentality.
… still someone’s sore. The club decides, specially if those were the promises made.
How can a club decide where a player plays or not. where are one’s individual rights. It is only might is right here. The club decides what a lot of nonsense.
The club decides if he stays or goes this summer. They can also decide to not sell him to another Italian side.
Next year, they can’t do anything. So best to sell him now, even to Inter.