Pierluigi Gollini has confirmed that he will be staying at Atalanta. “I’m not choosing between Italy and England, I’ve chosen Bergamo.”
Gollini had emerged as a target for Milan and Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, but the goalkeeper made it clear he would not ‘disrespect’ Atalanta, even if the links were ‘flattering’.
“It’s certainly flattering to be liked by others, but I’m very much linked to the Atalanta family,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
Pierluigi Gollini has confirmed that he will be staying at Atalanta. “I’m not choosing between Italy and England, I’ve chosen Bergamo.”
Gollini had emerged as a target for Milan and Tottenham Hotspur in recent weeks, but the goalkeeper made it clear he would not ‘disrespect’ Atalanta, even if the links were ‘flattering’.
“It’s certainly flattering to be liked by others, but I’m very much linked to the Atalanta family,” he told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“I’m not choosing between Italy and England, I’ve chosen Bergamo. It’s the right choice and the one I feel the most.
“Thinking about another would be disrespectful to Atalanta.”
Gollini was then asked about his place in Italy’s squad for Euro 2020, which has been delayed until next year.
“I thought I had a good chance, but I see that objective like I did before. There’s a lot of competition and there’s work to be done.
“At the end of the first leg [against Valencia] in the Champions League, my little finger took a whack. It hurt and I took care of it, but it swelled up.
“I hoped to recover, but I didn’t make it.”
On the topic of resuming the season, the former Aston Villa shot-stopper confessed to feeling ‘a bit at risk’ of catching COVID-19.
“We feel a bit at risk. Personally I’m torn between the desire to play, awareness of the importance of our sport at an economic level, and the doubt that it’s selfish to only think about myself.
“It would be unusual to play the Champions League in an empty stadium, perhaps at a neutral venue. It would lose some of its magic, even though it will still have a lot of prestige.”