Alejandro “Papu” Gomez set to leave Atalanta

Widely regarded as one of the star players in Atalanta’s incredible campaigns in recent years, Alejandro “Papu” Gomez is set to leave the club in January after a very serious clash with manager Gian Piero Gasperini. But is this the right way to go for Atalanta?

It hasn’t been an easy season for Atalanta. Despite recent seasons heroics, with the club even going as far as the quarterfinals of the Champions League this year, the Bergamo club has been struggling in mid-table this season and they haven’t found their groove to hit peak form, which is worrisome when we consider that we’re already in December.

Even more worrisome than that, manager Gian Piero Gasperini had serious issues with the dressing room in recent months, especially with star player Alejandro “Papu” Gomez, to the point that the Argentinian midfielder has stated on Instagram that he is poised to leave Atalanta this January. According to the rumors, Papu Gomez and Gasperini fought during the half time of the match against Midtjylland FC in Champions League for unknown reasons with Gomez landing a punch on Gasperini’s face before being stopped by Josip Ilicic. Those are strong rumors but we have no way to confirm them.

In any event, it seems that Papu Gomez has decided to leave for good and, naturally, this is a huge blow for Atalanta and even for Gasperini himself. Gomez is a key element in their playing style and his leadership has also proven to be monumental, which is something that a club of Atalanta’s stature requires. Losing him would be a great hit to their ambitions this year, especially when you consider that they have to face Real Madrid in the round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League next February.

Regardless of the final outcome, “Papu” Gomez’ star never shone brighter than how it did with Atalanta. This was the team where the Argentinian forward reached his full potential as both a player and a leader, helping Atalanta to reach incredible heights and that is also down to Gasperini, who understood him better than any other manager that he had before in his career. It is a sad ending for such a good team, but we will always have the memories of Gomez’ talents at Atalanta and the memorable “Papu Dance”.