Claudio Lotito (foto: Uradni Twitter profil kluba/zveze)
Lazio president Claudio Lotito insists the signing of Serbian striker Petar Ratkov was long planned, despite Maurizio Sarri admitting he knows little about the new arrival.
Tensions are rising at Lazio after conflicting messages emerged from the club hierarchy regarding the signing of Serbian striker Petar Ratkov.
Head coach Maurizio Sarri caused a stir across Italy by admitting publicly that he knows little about the 22-year-old forward, while club president Claudio Lotito has moved quickly to reassure supporters that the transfer was anything but improvised.
Speaking to DAZN ahead of Lazio’s draw with Fiorentina, Lotito dismissed suggestions of chaos behind the scenes and insisted the club remains firmly in control of its sporting strategy.
“We must make rational decisions. I want to reassure everyone: Lazio are not dismantling anything,” Lotito said. “We have a structure that works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, monitoring players all over the world.”
A long-scouted profile, not a last-minute move
Ratkov, who arrives from Red Bull Salzburg, was described by Lotito as a player the club has followed for a considerable period.
“The striker is not an improvisation. He is a player we have monitored for a long time,” the Lazio president stressed. “Our scouts were even present at Bologna–Salzburg. We know everything about him — he is fast, explosive and has characteristics we were missing.”
Lotito also underlined Lazio’s confidence in their recruitment process, highlighting the infrastructure behind transfer decisions.
“At Formello we have a scouting room with eight workstations. Every player we target is analysed in detail. Only the best profiles are selected — nothing is left to chance.”
Mixed signals from the top
The president’s comments come just days after Sarri openly admitted: “I don’t know Ratkov, I don’t know what to say about him.” The contrast between coach and president has inevitably raised questions about internal alignment between the sporting staff and the club’s leadership.
While Lotito insists everything has been done according to plan, Sarri’s distance from the signing suggests deeper issues in communication — adding another layer of tension to an already turbulent period at the Stadio Olimpico.