Arsenal has been without sports director since the departure of Edu Gaspar, and it could replace the previous established operator of Atletico Madrid in the position to replace him. The exit of Andrea Berta from Los Colchoneros was announced at the beginning of January after more than a decade in the club and seven as their sports director.
In recent months, Berta has been associated with Arsenal, just like Real Sociedad sports director Roberto Olabe, who announced his exit from the Reale Arena at the end of the season. However, Fabrizio Romano has revealed that Berta is not only the top goal of the Emirates, but that conversations to make it happen 'in an advanced phase', although not done.
The Italian has a lot of praise from his time in Atletico and is also Hofd as Manchester United and Juventus in the past. Working as a scout since 2014, he became their sports director in 2017 and is credited with the original move to bring in Antoine Griezmann, as well as the will of Samuel Lino, Mario Hermoso, Marcos Llorente and Rodrigo de Paul.
In recent years, however, there have been more disagreements between Berta and Atletico manager Diego Simeone, starting with the deal to bring in Joao Felix. Simeone was ready to continue from the Portuguese after two or three seasons, but the insistence of Berta and President Enrique Cerezo meant that Atletico continued to force the issue.
Berta also had a hand in deals for Thomas Lemar, Gelson Martins and Alvaro Morata, deals that did not go so well. Berta's exit came about as a result of a power struggle in Atletico Madrid, who started in January 2024, when former Real Madrid Scout Carlos Bucero was appointed director of Voetbal. Berta's last involvement were deals for Conor Gallagher and Robin Le Normand.
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