Ademola Lookman ‘saddened’ to be ‘singled out’ by manager after Atalanta CL exit

Ademola Lookman has fired back at “deeply disrespectful” comments made by Atalanta boss Gian Piero Gasperini and admitted he felt singled out following their Champions League exit on Tuesday.

Serie A title hopefuls Atalanta lost 3-1 at home to Club Brugge and were knocked out of Europe’s elite competition by a 5-2 score on aggregate.

Half-time substitute Lookman had a spot-kick saved midway through the second half, which led to criticism from Gasperini post-match with the London-born attacker described as “one of the worst penalty takers” by the veteran Italian coach.

Former Charlton and Everton forward Lookman has responded a day later with a lengthy post on his Instagram and X page where he referenced previous “difficult moments” during his three largely successful seasons at Atalanta.

Lookman, who scored a hat-trick to fire the club to Europa League success over Bayer Leverkusen last May, 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 to 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.

“Life’s about challenges and turning pain into power which I’ll continue to do.”

Lookman has scored 47 times across 106 appearances since he signed for Atalanta in 2022.