Atalanta chief harbours frosty ties with Dortmund over Inácio transfer in 2024

The Bergamo club’s president has accused Dortmund of showing “a lack of respect” a year and a half after the relatively unknown transfer of Samuele Inácio to BVB.

Neither coach shook hands with eachother after Borussia Dortmund’s 2-0 win against Atalanta last night, but the clubs’ relationship appears to be frosty off the pitch too. 

According to Sky Italia, Atalanta president Antonio Percassi and the Italian club’s bosses boycotted the obligatory UEFA luncheon with fellow BVB officials on Tuesday.

Percassi feels Dortmund did not act in accordance with the rules during the 2024 transfer of top talent Samuele Inácio, which he subsequently complained about on Sky Italia:

“There was a blatant lack of respect [from Dortmund]. It’s regrettable that a club of this caliber doesn’t want to resolve the matter [regarding Inácio’s transfer].

“The boy was trained by us, there’s a timeframe within which we can act, and Atalanta has behaved correctly in the past. Clubs have to respect each other.

“Dortmund can’t simply ‘steal’ a talent from Atalanta’s youth academy. It’s an open wound, but from a legal standpoint, we are convinced we are in the right,” said Percassi.

Percassi added that he revisited the issue with Dortmund’s sporting director Lars Ricken: “I still met with the managing director of Borussia and explained the situation to him again.”

The Atalanta chief never elaborated on how BVB broke FIFA law. Whether the Westphalians will face consequences is also impossible to assess based on the conflicting statements.

Ultimately, the 72-year-old’s argument throws up one glaring question – Why is he only addressing the issue a year and a half later after Inácio joined Dortmund?

As for the 17-year-old forward Inácio, little is known about his transfer to Dortmund other than leaving Atalanta’s U-17 side to link up with BVB’s U-19’s for an unspecified fee.