Arsenal fans have been left shocked after learning the reported reason why potential new Sporting Director Andrea Berta rejected a player during his tenure at Atlético Madrid.
Back in November, Arsenal faced a major shake-up following the resignation of their then-Sporting Director, Edu Gaspar.
Edu first joined the club as Technical Director in 2019 before being promoted to Sporting Director in November 2022.
A club statement read: *”Edu Gaspar has today resigned from his position as our Sporting Director.
Edu, our former player and Invincible, re-joined us as Technical Director in July 2019. He advanced within the club and was promoted to Sporting Director in November 2022, overseeing men’s, women’s, and academy football.”*
Since his departure, Arsenal have been actively searching for his replacement.
According to The Times, the Gunners aim to announce their new Sporting Director this month, with Berta emerging as the leading candidate.
The 53-year-old Italian played a key role in Atlético’s recruitment, securing signings like Jan Oblak and Antoine Griezmann—two of the club’s most successful transfers in recent history.
However, one transfer that didn’t materialize has drawn attention.
In 2022, Atlético were linked with French midfielder Boubacar Kamara, who was playing for Ligue 1 side Marseille at the time.
Despite their interest, Kamara ended up signing for Premier League club Aston Villa, which reportedly caused some internal frustration at Atlético.
As per Football Espana, Berta personally visited Kamara’s home to discuss the transfer, but things took an unexpected turn right from the start.
It was claimed that Kamara greeted Berta “in shorts and barefoot, with three of his friends also present.” This apparently led Berta to conclude that Kamara lacked the professionalism required to play under Diego Simeone at Atlético.
However, in a press conference, Kamara denied these claims, according to Mundo Deportivo.