Giuntoli: "It's an honour to have been chosen by Luca Percassi and the ownership"

Cristiano Giuntoli was officially unveiled as Atalanta’s new Sporting Director at a press conference held at the New Balance Arena in Bergamo.

Welcoming the new Nerazzurri executive was CEO Luca Percassi: “On behalf of myself, the ownership and the entire Club, I would like to extend a warm welcome to Cristiano and thank him for choosing our project. From our very first phone call, he showed great enthusiasm and willingness to embrace Atalanta. I would also like to thank him because, in just a month and a half, he has already introduced significant changes with great commitment and professionalism. He has brought high-level professionals into the Club, implemented a new working method and shown tremendous energy. As his career demonstrates—and his CV speaks for itself—he started from the bottom and achieved success at every professional level. His ability and insight in the transfer market have taken him to the very highest level. We have great confidence in his qualities, both as a professional and as a person, to help drive the Atalanta project forward. He perfectly embodies the Atalanta way”.

Sporting Director Cristiano Giuntoli then shared his first impressions: “First of all, I am delighted to be here. I feel proud and honoured because Atalanta are a hugely important Club. I must sincerely thank Luca Percassi, for whom I have enormous respect because of everything he has achieved at Atalanta. I believe he is, if not the best, certainly one of the finest executives in Italian football. That was one of the reasons why I accepted the role immediately. I would also like to thank the ownership, Antonio Percassi and Stephen Pagliuca, because they welcomed me like a son”.

The Nerazzurri Sporting Director continued: “When you talk about Atalanta and look at the Club from the outside, it is impossible not to fall in love with it. I think about where Antonio Percassi started: a boy from the mountains who joined the academy, reached the first team, became captain and then president. People often say that the president should be the team’s number one supporter, and in his case that is genuinely true. He transmits incredible energy. What the Club has achieved and built over the years speaks for itself. Atalanta have a youth academy admired around the world, one that continues to produce outstanding talents every season, not only for Italian football but also for the European and international game. I see my own story reflected in this Club: achieving results while maintaining sustainability. Few have reinvested the difference between revenue and costs as consistently as the Percassi family. For me, working at a Club like this is the highest ambition, because every day I can discuss football with people who truly understand it”.