Kessies Agent
“The negotiation with Juventus didn’t begin in the first days of the transfer window. It began much earlier, when Franck, at the end of his contract, decided that he wanted to join Juventus,”
“Franck concretely proved, with facts and enormous financial sacrifices, how much he wanted to wear the Juventus shirt.
“He turned down several offers from other clubs, some of which were figures that would objectively have been impossible for almost any footballer to refuse. He maintained his desire to join Juventus despite receiving offers far more financially lucrative than what he would have accepted from the Bianconeri. This is a fundamental point in understanding the whole affair,” Atangana continued.
“Following Franck’s wishes, I worked toward a mutually satisfactory agreement. We understood the club’s needs, agreed to wait, and gave Juventus the time needed to complete outgoing transfers and create the financial and sporting conditions to make an offer.
“Juventus’ concrete offer only materialised in the very final days of the transfer window. And despite being significantly lower than the terms initially envisaged, I had the player’s approval to revise his demands and lower them precisely to accommodate Juventus’ needs and difficulties: at that point, his priority was not to maximise his earnings, but to join Juventus.
“On this basis, both sides tried to find an acceptable compromise and, as can happen, despite Franck showing great flexibility in order to find a solution compatible with Juventus’ financial requirements, no balance could be reached. Believing that he had done everything possible to meet the club halfway, while being fully aware of his career, his value and, at the same time, the sacrifices he had made to maintain Juventus as his priority, Franck, at the end of August, drew some legitimate and reasonable conclusions about the club’s actual determination to sign him. It had become a question of consideration, of confidence in his abilities and, above all, of dignity.
“There is an African proverb that I believe perfectly captures the meaning of this whole affair: ‘Desiring and deeply appreciating something does not mean being willing to accept it at any cost. Everything has its limits.’ Franck genuinely wanted Juventus and demonstrated this through his actions, patience, and significant financial sacrifices. But wanting to wear a particular shirt cannot mean giving up one’s dignity or the level of consideration that a professional with his career believes he deserves.”
“Franck Kessié waited for Juventus for weeks, even when one would have expected the dialogue to remain active within the financial sustainability parameters that had been established to finalise an agreement. Instead, it was only in the very final days of the transfer window that the club became willing to sit down and negotiate concretely.
“I want to be absolutely clear. Franck Kessié is a man and a footballer of the highest calibre. He has played and won at the highest international levels, possesses a personality, experience, and full awareness of his own decisions. He is not someone who can be influenced, and nobody makes decisions on his behalf. The role of an agent, and even more so that of an intermediary, is not to persuade a player to accept a club’s proposal simply in order to complete a deal. The role is to advise, negotiate and help find the right balance between the financial expectations and sporting considerations of both parties. As far as I am concerned, my clients’ interests come before my own. Always.
“The decision to end the negotiations came when, faced with the rigidity and difficulties encountered, Franck felt that the conditions for reaching a positive conclusion no longer existed. This stemmed from the feeling that the club’s management had either lost or perhaps never fully possessed the required conviction and determination.
“I do, however, want to sincerely thank Juventus’ coach [Luciano Spalletti], who showed great appreciation for Franck and motivated him tremendously. It was one of the reasons, if not the main one, why Franck remained available until the very end.”
If you've read all the way till end, high five! Surely theree an afrucan proverb about stop repeating the same shit and this could have been put in one paragraph.