Arsenal’s search for a new sporting director remains ongoing, but with fresh reports this week that Andrea Berta, formerly of Atletico Madrid, has emerged as a leading candidate.
The Gunners are on the hunt for a replacement for their former director Edu, who resigned in November in order to take on a role overseeing the group of clubs owner by Evangelos Marinakis, including Nottingham Forest.
Jason Ayto has been filling the role on an interim basis and remains an internal candidate, with Arsenal keen to keep him on as a No2 even if he does not get the top job.
Executive vice-chair Tim Lewis and managing director Richard Garlick are continuing to lead the recruitment process, which manager Mikel Arteta suggested recently would be wrapped up “soon”.
Here is all you need to know about the man who may well be in line for the post…
Who is Andrea Berta?
After a career in banking, Berta made the leap into football in his early 30s when taking a job as sporting director at lower-league Italian club FC Carpenedolo.
His work there began to attract the attention of more high-profile outfits and eventually led, in 2007, to the sporting director role at Parma and then, two years later, Genoa.
After helping Genoa to solidify their Serie A status following their recent promotion, Berta joined Atletico Madrid in 2013, reportedly on the recommendation of former Manchester United and Chelsea executive Peter Kenyon.
Initially appointed as part of the club’s international scouting department, Berta’s influence in Madrid steadily grew and in 2017 he was promoted to sporting director.
He held that post until the mutual termination of his contract in January this year. Across his 11-year association with the club, Atletico won two LaLiga titles, the Copa del Rey, the Europa League and both the Spanish and European Super Cups.
Though there were suggestions of their relationship souring in recent years, Berta had previously been hailed as a key factor in keeping manager Diego Simeone at the club and in 2019 was named Sporting Director of the Year at the Globe Soccer Awards.
At Atletico, Berta was hailed for his part in signing several of the players who would become a core part of the club’s success
Prior to leaving Atletico earlier this year, the 53-year-old had been linked with a number of major European clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United. He was also linked with both Chelsea and Newcastle around the time of their respective takeovers and, according to reports in the Italian press, has recently turned down AC Milan.
Early in his time at Atletico, Berta was hailed for his part in signing several of the players who would become a core part of the club’s success over the past decade, including Jan Oblak, Antoine Griezmann, Rodri and Yannick Carrasco.
His record of profitable sales is also strong - including that of Thomas Partey to Arsenal - though there have been some expensive missteps in Atletico’s recruitment on Berta’s watch, most notably in the signings of Joao Felix and Thomas Lamar for around a combined £180million.
More recently, Berta helped enact a rebuild of Simeone’s side last summer that included the arrivals of Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth and Conor Gallagher, and currently has Atletico within a point of Barcelona at the top of the LaLiga table while still in Champions League and Copa del Rey contention.
