Gian Piero Gasperini has expressed his surprise by stating that Teun Koopmeiners is “the real victim of this situation” after refusing to play for Atalanta in order to push through a transfer to Juventus.
Koopmeiners, who was a key player in Atalanta’s success last season, scoring 15 goals and providing seven assists in 51 games, had decided to halt his involvement with the team just before the UEFA Super Cup match against Real Madrid.
Gasperini expressed his disappointment, saying, “It’s disappointing for Koopmeiners, who was denied the opportunity to play in this game. He is the real victim of this situation. I am sad that I was unable to convince him to stay out of certain transfer market issues. He remains a very nice guy, we are very fond of him and he helped us to get here.”
Regarding the possibility of repairing the relationship with Atalanta if the transfer does not go through, Gasperini said, “I don’t know, but for what I can see, he has been a victim. There is regret, I had warned him about this situation. Something was done that could do maximum damage to Atalanta. We don’t know what could happen over the next two weeks.”
Juventus has reportedly offered €50m plus €5m in add-ons for Koopmeiners, while Atalanta is holding out for €60m. The manner in which Juventus approached the player has clearly irritated Atalanta, as they had already agreed on personal terms with Koopmeiners in March 2024.
Koopmeiners is under contract with Atalanta until June 2027, making it clear that unauthorized negotiations with Juventus were premature.
