Former Italy and Napoli striker, Michele Padovano, has referred to Nigerian and Atalanta forward, Ademola Lookman, as disrespectful for how he's handled the interest PSG showed in him, Soccernet.ng reports.
Lookman has been at the Bergamo-based club since 2022 and peaked last season, helping them to the Coppa Italia final before scoring a hat-trick against Bayer 04 Leverkusen in the UEFA Europa League final.
The former Leicester City man also helped the Super Eagles of Nigeria to a second place in the AFCON 2023 final in Ivory Coast, sparking interest from French Champions, Paris Saint-Germain.
Following PSG's interest, Lookman, like his teammate, Koopmeiners, asked to be excluded from Atalanta's matches till their future is sorted.
The decision did not go down well with Padovano, who felt the players' decision was an act of disrespect to the club. The 57-year-old took to his Instagram page to publicly call Lookman out for how he handled the transfer saga.
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“Lookman should have respect for Atalanta because, in previous years, he has not really exploded. Atalanta gave him the opportunity to become an important player, and this attitude does not give him credit,” the ex-Crystal Palace man wrote on his page.
Paris Saint-Germain have offered Lookman a massive salary increase. Le Parisien proposed terms to the 27-year-old will see his salary go from €1.8 million to €4.5 million a year.
Padovano might somewhat be right probably the issue was bungled by the way it was tactlessly handled. But Lookmam is approaching the zenith of his career at 27, and so needs such huge money. As fallible as man can be, he probably got emotional and spontaneously gave a nod to the proposal.. You can’t crucify him for that. It’s his future we’re talking about here. He might not be as lucky as he got last season with Atalanta. Victor osimhe is a case in point. So let him go. The time is right.
He probably doesn’t want to live to regret his inaction in the future. Lookmam, this is a right decision to make. You ve disrespected no one.
The disrespectful thing here was there exclusion from the squard. nevertheless, Ademola was better than koopmeiners who initiated the idea by withdrewed from the super cup. I believe both presence in the final could have helped Atalanta. Since football doesn’t have pension, let him leave. He deserves respect more than koop.
All I see is what a white man sees of a black man who is trying to be a better man. If Lookman didn’t prepare for such occasion, Atlanta would not have used him. The disrespect here is for Michele Padovano not to respect the opinion of someone who singlehandedly gave Atlanta an important trophy, and seeking a better future for himself.
Lookman didn’t single handedly give Atalanta anything…. Do you even watch their matches? @Bossman