New Arsenal chief Andrea Berta spent 12 years with Atletico Madrid and oversaw some of the Spanish club’s best signings of the Diego Simeone era as sporting director
Arsenal have hailed Andrea Berta’s “great track record” after hiring the former Atletico Madrid man to replace Edu as sporting director. Berta started out in his native Italy, working for Parma and Genoa, but made his name with Atleti, where he was appointed technical director in 2013 and became sporting director in 2017.
The 53-year-old’s time at Atleti coincided with their rise under the management of Diego Simeone, who has been in charge since 2011 and has benefited from many of Berta’s signings. Atleti have won two La Liga titles, two Europa Leagues and the Copa del Rey under Simeone – and Berta deserves plenty of credit for putting his team together.
Among his best signings are club stalwarts Antoine Griezmann, Jan Oblak and Marcos Llorente, as well as Manchester City star Rodri. The Spanish midfielder came through the Atleti academy but was released in 2013, reportedly due to a lack of physical strength, and moved to Villarreal. It was Berta who brought him back to the club in the summer of 2018 for £16.5m.
Rodri quickly shot to stardom at Atleti and was sold to Manchester City in 2019 for £62.5m. He has continued to go from strength to strength ever since, becoming one of the best midfielders in the world and winning the Ballon d’Or last year.
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It is that sort of deal which Arsenal co-chairman Josh Kroenke was referring to when he said: “Anyone who knows football knows Andrea is an impressive figure. He has vast knowledge of the game, a great track record, a strong network and an insatiable desire to build winning teams.
“We undertook a thorough recruitment process and we were hugely impressed with the level of all the other candidates, but it was Andrea’s experience and the success he has enjoyed that stood out.”
Other top Berta signings at Atleti include Kieran Trippier, who cost £20m in 2019, Diogo Jota, who was picked up on the cheap from Pacos de Ferreira and sold onto Wolves for double the price and Matheus Cunha, who also ended up at Wolves from Atleti.
He also landed Luis Suarez from Barcelona in 2020 for £5.5m, with the club benefiting from 34 goals in 83 games from the veteran Uruguayan striker.
He oversaw a big summer transfer window in 2024, too, signing Julian Alvarez for £81.5m from Manchester City. The Argentine has fit in perfectly, scoring 23 goals for Atletico so far this season, while Conor Gallagher has also fit in nicely.
However, like any sporting director, Berta doesn’t have a perfect record. His decision to splash £113m on Joao Felix from Benfica in 2019 was a poor one, while Thomas Lemar – signed from Monaco for £63.2m in 2018 – also didn’t work out well. Arsenal midfielder Lucas Torreira also failed to settle after being signed by Berta.
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