The story goes that when Andrea Berta quit a safe job in banking in his mid-20s to gamble on a career in football his aghast mother came close to fainting.
They are not passing out yet in north London, but Berta’s transfer dealings have already left Arsenal’s supporters feeling dizzy, not to mention giddy.
Last week, the ‘homecoming’ of Crystal Palace’s Eberechi Eze (£68million) to the club he grew up supporting followed a host of others through the door, including Viktor Gyokeres (£63.5m), Martin Zubimendi (£51m), and Noni Madueke (£52m).
It is a shopping spree under the new sporting director that would make Dale Winton wince, with a staggering £267m spent on seven players – and a deal for Bayer Leverkusen’s Piero Hincapie being worked on too. And while it is ludicrous to make any judgments at this stage of a new season, the consensus among the Gunners success-starved fanbase is that their new man has ‘won’ the transfer window.
The swoop for Eze was revealing. Last, Wednesday, at around 8.30pm, an email landed in the Eagles’ inbox. It had been sent by Arsenal but it was very much not Arsenal-esque. There were few pleasantries. It was short, sharp, to the point and stated in plain terms that the club wanted to buy the forward and that they would meet Crystal Palace’s demands.
Within 24 hours the deal was done and Tottenham, who felt they were on the brink of signing Eze themselves, had been brutally usurped.
Andrea Berta has made a huge impression in his first transfer window as Arsenal sporting director
It was Berta’s forthright email that got the Eberechi Eze deal over the line – snatching the Crystal Palace star away from rivals Tottenham
Berta, who has only been in post since the end of March, replacing Edu who went on gardening leave towards the end of 2024 and then interim Jason Ayto, had fired his latest shot – and with it came more, booming evidence that there is now a new normal at the Emirates. A no-nonsense, direct approach led by a former banker from the north of Italy with a history of making quick decisions.
So who is Andrea Berta?
‘He gets s*** done,’ said one exec at a Premier League rival. ‘He doesn’t mess about. He makes things happen.
Arsenal have had a reputation for doing things a certain way, a way of courtesy and prestige. ‘It was an appointment that surprised a lot of us because there are no airs or graces with Andrea. He’s not a very Arsenal person, and I mean that in a good way.’
That summary may well be music to the ears of those who took the decision to bring the 53-year-old to the club. When predecessor Edu departed for a role in Evangelos Marinakis’ ownership group that includes Nottingham Forest and Olympiacos, Arsenal’s brains trust sat down.
The group included manager Mikel Arteta, executive vice chair Tim Lewis, co-chair Josh Kroenke and managing director Richard Garlick, and they were there to discuss what traits they needed from a replacement.
The consensus, according to those with knowledge of the situation, was that they required someone who could blast the door down. Someone who could take Arsenal beyond second place and help deliver a first Premier League title since 2004. In an ideal world, someone who had already shown that they could take an outsider and gatecrash the party.
After a lengthy search, they landed on Berta, who appeared to have done just that in the Spanish capital. When he arrived as technical director in 2013, Atletico Madrid had one won La Liga title in 36 years.
Berta has slotted into the Arsenal leadership group alongside the likes of Richard Garlick, the club’s managing director
Berta replaced Edu (left) who has gone to take up a role in Evangelos Marinakis’ team
While manager Diego Simeone will rightly take the lion’s share of the credit, by the time Berta departed last year the noisy neighbour had taken on the might of Real and Barcelona and delivered a series of bloody noses.
Two La Liga titles and a Europa League had been added to the cabinet, with Berta delivering a strong hit rate in the transfer market. The Italian was instrumental in deals for Rodri, Antoine Griezmann and Jan Oblak, which stand out.
Rodri and Griezmann delivered a combined return of around £124m. Oblak signed for £13m more than a decade ago and is viewed as one of the finest goalkeepers on the planet.
In Spain, such returns spawned the nickname ‘Milagroso Berta’, which translates to ‘Miraculous Berta’.
Regardless, there were six months remaining on his contract when Berta left the club in January. There had also been misses, most notably the club-record £113m singing of Joao Felix from Benfica in 2019, who was subsequently offloaded to Chelsea for £44.5m and the £62m arrival of Thomas Lemar from Monaco, which has failed to play out as planned. Both were represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes, with whom Berta is thought to be close.
The noises within the Metropolitano were that the relationship had run its cause and that others had played a bigger part in the Atletico’s ascent. As John F Kennedy once noted, victory has a thousand fathers but defeat is an orphan.
Regardless, Arsenal were sold on the narrative of a shrew operator whose roots were planted in Brescia, at the foot of the Alps, where Berta is recalled as a ‘dog with a bone’ after he was asked to help out his local club Carpanedolo by its president Francesco Malpezzi, initially organising tournaments.
He seized the opportunity with relish and, despite having no playing career, jettisoned banking to concentrate full-time on football. At one stage, having been given a wider portfolio, he decided to fly to South America, taking 10 flights in 10 days to watch 25 players.
Diego Simeone and Berta were a formidable partnership at Atletico Madrid, winning two La Liga titles
But it was not all plain sailing for Berta in Madrid – the club-record £113m deal for Joao Felix was a failure
‘I think he would do it for free,’ Malpezzi said. ‘He does what he likes the most.’ Malpezzi described Berta as ‘shy and anything but presumptuous’ adding that he was effectively a football nerd.
After quitting his job in banking – and almost sending his mother to the floor – he helped take semi-pro Capranedolo, from a town of just 12,000 people, to the fourth tier. It gained him admirers elsewhere, and further stints at Parma and Genoa would come before the big switch to Atletico – thanks in no small part to a recommendation from former Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon, who was acting as financial director for the club at the time.
At various points other suitors came calling, including both United and Paris Saint-Germain. The French club offered a reported £12m a season in wages but were unsuccessful in their approach. Arsenal had no such issues.
When Berta arrived and took up office at the training ground, he immediately started to plan for the summer window. Early impressions were that the club had employed a relentless workaholic.
Berta’s banking background is a key feature of what he brings to the table, which applies to selling as well as buying.
‘He can be creative,’ explained one insider who has also dealt with him. ‘He will listen to you and try and find a solution. For example, if you’re trying to buy one of his players but can’t afford the asking price he’ll be open to finding ways to make it happen, whether that’s a payment plan, instalments or incentives. He’s pretty straightforward, seriously intelligent and if he thinks a deal is in everyone’s interests he will try and get it done.’
His trip to South America all those years ago appears to have served him well. The contacts he made remain years later.
‘His network is vast,’ said another agent. ‘He’s studious and at times he is a typical, fiery Italian. He has the banking background and is big on numbers and analytics, but he can also be quite good fun. He has a disarming smile and, despite the fact it’s often a high pressure situation with serious money involved, you can have a bit of a laugh with him.’
Christian Norgaard is one of seven signings – so far – made by Berta at Arsenal this summer
One of the biggest moves was for £51m midfielder Martin Zubimendi from Real Sociedad
And Viktor Gyokeres was one deal that best showed Berta’s ruthless efficiency
Berta, who speaks Spanish and Italian and who is learning English, is also a student of human behaviours. Much of his analysis goes on character as well as performance.
Carpenedolo’s vice-president all those years ago, Enrico Viola, recalled to Marca that he held a database with notes on ‘all the players in northern Italy’. ‘Not just their game and statistics, but their character, profession, family (before signing someone, he would speak to their father, their brother),’ he added. ‘This is normal in modern football today, but 20 years ago and at the amateur level it wasn’t.’
Berta is also known for making emotionless decisions. The signing of Gyokeres was a case in point. While Arsenal’s need for a centre forward was clear, Berta was well aware that the Sporting Lisbon striker was 27, and that his age would have to be reflected in the price.
While Benjamin Sesko, at 22, had more longevity, the fee of £73.7m being quoted by RB Leipzig was simply seen as too much of a risk given his lack of experience.
He is a man who avoids the limelight and who has tried to swerve interviews throughout his career, although a rare glimpse was offered at the end of a Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City three years ago – when footage appeared to show Berta slapping City doctor Max Sala on the side of the face as tensions boiled over after the final whistle.
While they probably will not wish to see a repeat of that, the belief within the club is that they have a fighter and a game changer. Clear judgment remains months away, but this summer has done little to diminish that view.
