Atalanta, Ilicic agree to terminate contract

Milan, Aug 31, 2022 (AFP) - Josip Ilicic is no longer an Atalanta player after the Serie A club announced on Wednesday that they had both agreed to terminate his contract.

"Atalanta B.C. announce that the contract between the club and the player Josip Ilicic has been terminated by mutual agreement," Atalanta said in a statement.

Slovenia forward Ilicic was one of the symbols of a flamboyant Atalanta side which enchanted Europe with an all-out attack style of football.

The 34-year-old played 173 times for the Bergamo-based club after arriving from Fiorentina in 2017, scoring 60 times.

His high point was netting all four goals in Atalanta's 4-3 win in the second leg of their last-16 Champions League tie with Valencia, which gave Gian Piero Gasperini's side an 8-4 aggregate victory.

However that match was the last time he would feature in the club's historic run to the quarter-finals, as mental issues reportedly brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic caused him to take a break from football.

Concerns about his mental health continued, and that and physical problems meant he has hardly featured over the last two years.