Ademola Lookman furiously hit back at Gian Piero Gasperini’s “disrespectful” comments about his penalty miss in Atalanta’s defeat to Club Brugge where his manager labelled him as “one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen”.
Atalanta were knocked out of the Champions League by the Belgian side by virtue of a 5-2 aggregate defeat in the knockout round play-offs, with a 3-1 defeat in Bergamo on Tuesday night sealing their fate.
After going 3-0 down at half-time, Lookman scored his team’s only goal on the night early in the second half after returning from a three-game absence with a knee injury.
But the moment which seemed to kill off Atalanta’s hopes of a comeback was when the 27-year-old saw his penalty saved by Simon Mignolet shortly afterwards.
After the game, manager Giasperini said: “Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen.
“He has a frankly terrible record even in training, he converts very few of them. Retegui and De Ketelaere were there, but Lookman in a moment of enthusiasm after scoring decided to take the ball and that was a gesture I did not appreciate at all.”
Lookman slams Giasperini’s comments
The Nigeria international, who was recently named African Footballer of the Year, has now publicly spoken out against his manager for his post-match comments.
Writing on X, Lookman said: “It saddens me on a day like this to have to write this statement – Most of all because of what we have achieved together as a team and as a city.
“Being singled out in the manner I have been not only hurts but feels deeply disrespectful, not least because of the immense hard work and commitment I have always put in each and every day to help bring success to this club and the incredible fans of Bergamo.
“In truth, I have dealt with many difficult moments during my time here – the majority of which I have never spoken about because in my opinion the team must always be protected and must come first. This makes what happened last night even more hurtful.
“Along with our incredible fans, we as a team are hurting too with last night’s result. During the match the designated penalty taker instructed me to take the penalty; and to support the team I took the responsibility in the moment to do so.
“Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power, which I’ll continue to do.”
— Ademola Lookman (@Alookman_) February 19, 2025
Lookman joined Atalanta from RB Leipzig in 2022, scoring 47 goals and providing 23 assists in 106 appearances for the Bergamo-based club.
The former Everton and Fulham forward scored a hat-trick in the final as Atalanta won the Europa League for their first ever major European honour.
He also scored three goals for Nigeria during the Super Eagles’ run to the Africa Cup of Nations final last year.