Underused Lazio Forward Sparks Tensions Between Lotito & Gattuso | OneFootball

Tensions are flaring at Lazio, as club president Claudio Lotito is reportedly displeased with Gennaro Gattuso, who has been disregarding Petar Ratkov.

The Background

The Serbian striker joined the Italian capital side in January as a replacement for Taty Castellanos. His arrival at the time further harmed the shaky relationship between Lotito and then-head coach Maurizio Sarri, who claimed he had never heard about the player before. Therefore, the 22-year-old became a benchwarmer under the Tuscan manager, who preferred Daniel Maldini and Tijjani Noslin.

Petar Ratkov Struggling for Playing Time Since Joining Lazio

Despite Sarri’s departure and Gattuso’s subsequent arrival, Ratkov finds himself in the same unpleasant spot, with the new manager refusing to field him as a starter, much to the patron’s dismay. Although he enjoyed a positive pre-season, the former RB Salzburg attacker was snubbed in favour of the misfiring Boulaye Dia in the Coppa Italia defeat to Mantova last Sunday.

Gattuso & Lotito Disagree on Ratkov

According to Il Messaggero, Lotito was irritated with Gattuso’s selections, arguing that Ratkov should have been in the starting lineup instead of Dia. On the other hand, the coach insists that the patron shouldn’t intervene in the team selections, but instead focus on signing a new centre-forward, as he promised at the start of the summer.

Angelo Fabiani Acting As Conciliator

The Roman newspaper adds that Lazio sporting director Angelo Fabiani, who is also in favour of fielding Ratkov, is trying to play peacemaker between Lotito and Gattuso, a role he often played last season when Sarri and the club owner were involved in back-and-forth public spats.

Gattuso Not Leaving Lazio

That being said, the source believes that rumours of Gattuso’s imminent departure are wide of the mark, as the Calabrian doesn’t intend to resign despite the difficult situation, and the hierarchy has no plans to sack him, especially at this extremely early stage of the season.