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Kessie’s agent has issued a strong response after the Ivory Coast midfielder chose Atalanta following a long pursuit from Juventus.

There has been another turn in the Franck Kessie-Juventus story. The Ivory Coast midfielder left Al Ahli and joined Atalanta despite serious interest from Juventus. Before Juventus v Parma, Juventus chief executive Giovanni Carnevali commented on the matter: “It was thought there was a possibility of getting the deal done,” he said, “but probably his great interest in wearing the Juventus shirt was not really there. Or perhaps the agent looked after his own interests...” Those comments angered the former AC Milan player’s agent, George Atangana, who then released a statement.

Kessie only wanted Juventus

“The negotiations,” the statement said, “with Juventus did not start in the final days of the transfer window. The story had begun many weeks earlier, when Franck, with his contract expired, had essentially decided that he wanted to commit himself to the Juventus project. It was not just a declaration of intent. Franck demonstrated in concrete terms, through his actions and through enormous financial sacrifices, how much he wanted to wear the Juventus shirt. He rejected several offers from other clubs, some of them at figures that would objectively have been impossible to turn down for the vast majority of players. He kept his desire to join Juventus despite receiving offers that were financially far superior to what he would have accepted from the Bianconeri club. This is a fundamental point in understanding the whole affair. Franck did not wait for Juventus because he had no alternatives. He waited all summer for Juventus to follow up on the strong interest they had shown in him because he was convinced of his choice. Following Franck’s instructions, I worked to find an agreement that would satisfy both parties. We understood the club’s needs, agreed to wait, and gave Juventus the necessary time to complete some outgoing deals and create the financial and technical conditions needed to make an offer. All this, I repeat, went on for several weeks, with patience, respect and discretion. But Juventus’ concrete offer only arrived in the very final days of the transfer window.”

A matter of dignity, not money

“Although it was well below the terms first discussed, I had secured the player’s approval to revise his demands and lower them specifically to match Juventus’ needs and difficulties: at that point, his priority was not to maximise his earnings, but to join Juventus. On that basis, both sides tried to find an acceptable compromise and, as can happen, despite Franck’s great flexibility in trying to find a solution compatible with Juventus’ financial requirements, they could not find a point of balance. Believing he had done everything possible to meet the club halfway, and conscious of his own journey, his own value and the sacrifices he had made to keep Juventus as his priority, at the end of August Franck drew some legitimate and reasonable conclusions about the club’s real determination to sign him. It had become a matter of regard, of confidence in his abilities and, above all, of dignity. There is an African proverb that I believe perfectly captures the meaning of this story: ‘Desiring and deeply valuing something does not mean being willing to accept it at any cost. Everything has its limits.’ Franck truly wanted Juventus and showed it through his actions, through waiting and through significant financial sacrifices. But wanting a shirt cannot mean giving up your dignity or the regard that a professional with his career believes he deserves.”

Juve were not convinced

“In the Juventus chief executive’s public statements,” Atangana continued, “reference was made not only to probable responsibilities on the part of the agent, but also to an alleged lack of determination on the player’s part in wanting to wear the Juventus shirt. I naturally respect everyone’s right to express their own position, but on this point I believe it is necessary to set out the facts again. Franck Kessie waited for Juventus for weeks, even when you might have expected that, with the conditions set by the financial sustainability parameters still in place, the dialogue would be kept active in order to finalise the agreements. Instead, the club only became willing to sit down and talk concretely in the very final days of the transfer window. Every club naturally has the right to make its own assessments and establish its own priorities. But a player too has the right, at a certain point, to do the same, and Franck, in the end, saw confirmed the growing perception that perhaps the conviction in him was not what he had imagined throughout the time he had waited for Juventus.”

Kessie made the decision, not the agent

“I want to be very clear about this. Franck Kessie is a man and a footballer of the very highest calibre. He has played and won at the highest international levels, and has personality, experience and full awareness of his own decisions. He is not a man who can be influenced and no one decides in his place. The job of an agent, and even more so that of an intermediary, is not to convince the player to accept the club’s proposal simply to get the deal done. The job is to advise, negotiate and help find the right balance between the economic expectations and technical considerations of both parties. As far as I am concerned, the interests of those I represent come before my own. Always. The decision to break off the negotiations came when, faced with the rigidity and the difficulties encountered, Franck felt that the conditions no longer existed to reach a positive conclusion, and this stemmed from the feeling that conviction and determination on the part of the club’s management had fallen away, or had never been fully there in the first place. However, I would like to offer my sincere thanks to the Juventus manager, who showed great regard for Franck and strongly motivated him. It was one of the reasons, if not the main one, why Franck remained available until the very end.”

Why he chose Atalanta

“And this is where the story takes on a completely different meaning. In life and in football, you come across people who remind you that, before contracts, bonuses and negotiations, there are human relationships. The Percassi family had sensed the boy’s unease. They know Franck, his story, his character and his values. They spoke with me and they spoke with him, and in those conversations the financial side was never put at the centre. They spoke about the story of Kessie and Atalanta, about the boy who arrived in Bergamo many years ago and the man he has become. Sometimes it is precisely certain details that make the difference. To the Atalanta fans I want to say one thing: Franck Kessie did not choose Atalanta because he had no alternatives. It is important to say that clearly. He did have them, including from prestigious clubs and on extremely important financial terms. He chose Bergamo because there he felt wanted, respected and valued, both as a person and as a footballer. And above all, he has not forgotten where he started and how much he received. He could have chosen to return to Bergamo at 35, at the end of his career, to romantically close the circle. And I am convinced that the Percassi family would have welcomed him even then. Instead, he has chosen to return now, at the peak of his footballing maturity, to try to give something back to Atalanta. So to all the Bergamo fans we send a simple and sincere message: Franck is back, with gratitude for the past, respect for the present and confidence in the future.”