Atalanta chief confirms €20 million PSG bid was rejected in 2024 and outlines agreement with Nigerian star to move abroad only.
Hopes of seeing Nigerian forward Ademola Lookman in an Inter Milan jersey this summer have been significantly dampened following a revealing statement from Atalanta CEO Luca Percassi.
During a press briefing on Monday, August 4, 2025, Percassi disclosed the existence of a prior agreement between Atalanta and Lookman that effectively rules out a move to any Serie A rival, including Inter Milan, despite growing interest from top clubs across Europe.
“The pact with Lookman was made one year ago when we rejected €20 million from PSG,” Percassi said. “We told him: we’ll let you leave in 2025 for a super top club and not in Italy.”
The revelation by Luca Percassi sheds light on the strategic foresight both Atalanta and Ademola Lookman shared in shaping the player’s future. In 2024, when French giants Paris Saint-Germain tabled a €20 million bid for the Nigerian international, Atalanta rejected the offer, not purely on financial grounds, but based on a deeper mutual understanding with the player.
“The pact with Lookman was made one year ago when we rejected €20 million from PSG,” Percassi revealed. “We told him: we’ll let you leave in 2025 for a super top club and not in Italy.”
This unwritten agreement, what many are now calling a “gentleman’s agreement”, illustrates the high level of trust and professionalism between the club and the forward. Rather than cashing in prematurely, Atalanta opted to invest further in Lookman\’s development, ensuring he remained central to their tactical setup through the 2024–2025 season.
The forward, for his part, honored the pact by maintaining high-performance levels, resulting in his historic hat-trick against Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 UEFA Europa League final. That performance alone elevated his market value and solidified his status as one of Europe’s most efficient wide attackers.
By outlining the parameters of his potential departure early, only in 2025, only to a non-Serie A \”super top\” club, Atalanta not only managed expectations but also maintained squad harmony. It’s a model increasingly rare in modern football, where verbal assurances are often overshadowed by fast-paced, high-stakes deals.
With Lookman’s contract set to expire in 2026, the club remains in a strong negotiating position. However, their commitment to honoring the pact shows a willingness to blend integrity with ambition, traits that have become synonymous with Atalanta’s rise in European football.
This pact, according to Percassi, was built on mutual trust and a long-term vision for the 26-year-old’s career. The Italian executive stressed that the club’s intention was always to support Lookman’s growth while also ensuring Atalanta remained competitive.
Although Inter Milan and other European heavyweights have recently shown interest in securing Lookman’s services, Percassi’s comments clearly indicate that a move within Italy is not aligned with the club’s plan.
“Now, the situation [with Inter] is different… and as always, it’s us deciding,” he added, reaffirming that Atalanta remains in control of the player’s immediate future.
Ademola Lookman has become a talismanic figure at Atalanta since joining from RB Leipzig in 2022. His crowning moment came during the 2024 UEFA Europa League final, where he scored a stunning hat-trick to secure the trophy for the Bergamo-based side, a historic feat that boosted his profile across Europe.
Lookman’s contract with Atalanta runs until June 2026, and while his stock has soared in recent months, the club appears determined not to sell him to a domestic rival, upholding their verbal agreement from last summer.
Given the CEO’s comments, Lookman’s most likely next destination, if he is to move at all this summer, would be outside Italy. Clubs from the English Premier League and the German Bundesliga have also been monitoring the forward closely, and a bid from a \”super top club\” could still materialize before the transfer window closes.
However, with Atalanta holding firm and the transfer clock ticking, a late-window move would require both the right offer and alignment with the terms of the 2024 pact.
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