A long and important chapter in Berat Gjimshiti’s career has come to an end. The Albanian national team captain leaves Atalanta after nearly a decade in Bergamo, to embark on a new adventure in Saudi football with Diriyah.
The Albanian defender, now 33, has been officially presented by the newly promoted club in Saudi Arabia’s top flight. The transfer marks the end of one of the most successful periods for an Albanian player in Italian football.
In recent years, the Albanian defender also took on the captain’s armband and became one of the most respected figures in the team. For Albania, meanwhile, he has been a point of reference in defense and the leader of the National Team for years, counting 72 appearances with the red and black jersey. Now, after a decade in Bergamo, Gjimshiti changes not only club, but also continent. His destination is Saudi Arabia, where Diriyah is building the team for its debut in the elite.
There is also an Albanian detail in this transfer. Olsi Rama, the former director of Partizan, has announced that he was part of the operation that took Gjimshiti from Atalanta to Diriyah. Rama had appeared a few days earlier in another important international transfer, that of Karim Adeyemi to Barcelona, where he published a photo together with the footballer, the president of the Catalan club and Jorge Mendes.
But this time the protagonist is undoubtedly Berat Gjimshiti. After ten years in one of the most important periods in Atalanta’s history, after a European trophy and after becoming captain of Albania, Gjimshiti closes the Italian chapter and opens another in Saudi Arabia.
From Bergamo to Riyadh. From Atalanta to Diriyah. A new adventure for the red and black captain, after a decade that made him one of the most prominent Albanians in European football.
