‘Galliani respected me’ – Papu Gomez lifts lid on when he could have joined Milan | OneFootball

Alejandro Gomez has admitted that he could have signed for AC Milan a few years ago, but decided to remain with Atalanta.

Gomez played at Atalanta for a number of years, operating mostly as a left winger but capable of playing across the forward line. He racked up 252 appearances for the Bergamo-based club, with 59 goals and 72 assists to his name too.

He former part of a lethal attack with Josip Ilicic and Luis Muriel, one that catapulted Atalanta from being a mid-table side mostly to all of a sudden being Champions League contenders and even qualifiers.

Papu spoke during an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport published on the day of the game at San Siro, and he was asked about if he could have swapped blue and black for red and black. There were also links when he was at Sevilla too.

You were on the pitch and scored in the famous 5-0 win over Stefano Pioli’s Milan. But is it true that he could have played that match wearing the Rossoneri shirt?

“Yes, Galliani respected me. The first time he tried to sign me was in 2017: it was Berlusconi’s last Milan, Montella was on the bench. In the end I stayed in Bergamo, because Atalanta had an ambitious project, my family was doing well and I had become one of the team’s leaders.

“Then I also said no to Lazio, while in 2013 Inter and Atletico wanted me. Simeone invited me to lunch to tell me he wanted me, but Catania were asking for a lot of money and so they turned to Villa.”