Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman has criticised comments by his own coach Gian Piero Gasperini describing him as “one of the worst penalty takers” he has seen as “deeply disrespectful”.
Lookman scored 34 seconds after coming on as a half-time substitute but also missed a penalty as Atalanta exited the Champions League against Club Brugge on Tuesday.
After the match, Gasperini said Lookman was not supposed to take the penalty and claimed the 27-year-old had a “frankly terrible record even in training”.
“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 to the incredible fans of Bergamo,” Lookman responded on social media on Wednesday.
The Nigeria international added: “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.”
According to Gasperini, team-mates Mateo Retegui or Charles de Ketelaere should have taken the spot-kick.
However, Lookman said he was instructed by “the designated penalty taker” to take it.
“Lookman was not supposed to take that penalty, he is one of the worst penalty takers I’ve ever seen,” said Italian Gasperini.
“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.”
Before last night’s Champions League exit, Lookman had a perfect penalty record for Atalanta, scoring all four penalties he had taken.
The reigning African Footballer of the Year has now converted four out of six penalties in his professional career, having also missed one for Fulham when he attempted a Panenka-style spot-kick in 2020.
Lookman scored a hat-trick as Atalanta beat Bayer Leverkusen in last year’s Europa League final, while he has 15 goals for his club in all competitions this season.
But the Serie A side were beaten 3-1 by Club Brugge in their second leg, losing 5-2 on aggregate as they missed out on the last 16.
After his comments on social media, the official X account of Nigeria’s men’s national team posted in support of the forward.
“We are with you Ade,” the message read.
