Atalanta CEO Luca Ptercassi has promised the club will respect whatever decision manager Gian Piero Gasperini makes on his future, including the possibility of leaving at the end of the season, Afrosport reports.
The Italian tactician has been under the spotlight since he made scathing remarks about Super Eagles forward Ademola Lookman over his penalty miss in the 3-1 defeat to Club Brugge in the UEFA Champions League last week which ended Atalanta’s European journey.
In the wake of Lookman’s response which he said were hurtful and disrespectful, Gasperini suggested he might leave his position as head coach at the end of the season or in the summer of 2026 when his contract expires.
“We are in a fantastic position in the league table, but the results this weekend confirm how difficult Serie A is, so we must have the utmost concentration,” Percassi per Football Italia.
“We want Atalanta to finish this season as protagonists, without regrets and getting as many points as possible.
“We’ve been with the coach for nine years, so these are matters we only ever addressed at the end of the season and not this early. It is because of our great rapport and affection for him that we will respect it if his decision is to not renew the contract. We will understand and have to deal with it.
“At the same time, there is a contract and any other issue will be discussed at the end of the season. Our objective is to be focused on the rest of the campaign.”
11×3 – Ademola #Lookman, 11 goals in the current league season, is the first player to score more than 10 goals in each of the last three Serie A campaigns (since 2022/23). Constance.#EmpoliAtalanta #SerieA pic.twitter.com/9Br7aSZ3J4
— OptaPaolo (@OptaPaolo) February 23, 2025
When asked if Lookman’s comments prompted Gasperini to speak about his own future, Percassi said: “I don’t know, you’d have to ask him and fortunately you can speak directly with him, seeing as we have so many games.
“I think it is better to play football, because when speaking we can risk creating controversy to overshadow a campaign that has seen Atalanta be super protagonists.”
Lookman scored twice in Atalanta’s 5-0 win away at Empoli in the Serie A, leaving them three points behind leaders Inter Milan.
