Atalanta sign Giacomo Raspadori from Atlético Madrid

Atalanta have completed the signing of Giacomo Raspadori from Atlético Madrid.

The 25-year-old Italy international has signed a four-and-a-half year contract after the clubs reached agreement over a €23m (£20m) fee for the forward.

The transfer marks a swift return to Serie A for Raspadori, who struggled to establish himself at Atlético after joining from Napoli last August.

The striker made just one league start for Diego Simeone’s side, racking up a total of 226 minutes across 12 appearances as Julián Alvarez, Alexander Sørloth and Antoine Griezmann remained ahead of him in the pecking order. Raspadori’s only goal for the La Liga club came in the Champions League against Frankfurt in late September.

How did Atalanta announce Giacomo Raspadori’s signing and who else wanted him?

“Giacomo Raspadori is Atalanta BC’s seventh permanent signing of the 2025/26 season,” the club announced on Thursday evening. “The Bologna-born striker will wear the number 18 shirt.”

Raspadori’s arrival marks something of a coup for Atalanta, who completed the transfer in the face of rival interest from the forward’s former club Napoli as well as Lazio and Roma, who appeared to be leading the race until this week. 

Roma executive Claudio Ranieri said he was unsure whether the striker’s reluctance to join was motivated by a preference for a permanent move rather than a loan.

“We looked at several players, and when we realised he wasn’t interested, because he never wanted to speak with us, we backed off,” said Ranieri. 

While Roma have since moved quickly to reinforce their attack with the addition of Marseille’s Robinio Vaz and Aston Villa forward Donyell Malen, Lazio president Claudio Lotito’s reaction betrayed more than a hint of sour grapes.

‘Raspadori is not Maradona’

“Who is Raspadori? It’s not like he’s Maradona,” Lotito remarked to reporters last week. “He’s a substitute at Atlético Madrid.”

Raspadori will have the opportunity to renew his strike partnership with fellow Italy international Gianluca Scamacca, with whom he combined fruitfully at Sassuolo in the formative years of his senior career. 

What did Atalanta boss Raffaelle Palladino say about Raspadori?

Raffaelle Palladino, the Atalanta head coach, hailed Raspadori as the final piece in the seventh-placed club’s attacking jigsaw.

“He’s a strong player who has completed the attack: he’s raised Atalanta’s level,” said Palladino, who takes his side to Pisa on Friday night. ”I’ve always liked him a lot, and the club, being very ambitious, managed to bring him to Bergamo. We’re very strong in attack.

“With the arrival of Raspadori, Atalanta has many options, in addition to the likes of [Serbia international Lazar] Samardžić, [Belgium forward Charles] De Ketelaere, [Italy attacker Daniel] Maldini and [Nigeria striker Ademola] Lookman, there’s also [Montenegro international Nikola] Krstović, who is doing very well. 

“They know they have to push in training, but I’m very happy with them. I have a team ready for anything, where everyone knows how to seize opportunities.”

Raspadori made his professional debut with Sassuolo in 2019 after coming through the club’s youth system. He left Emilia-Romagna for Napoli in August 2022, initially on loan, and went on to spend three seasons at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, scoring 18 goals in 109 appearances, before joining Atlético.

Raspadri has been capped 45 times for Italy, scoring 11 goals for the Azzurri, with whom he won the 2020 European Championship.