OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Federico Gatti signs contract extension through 2028

From the day he signed with Juventus, Federico Gatti had the kind of story that at some point probably deserves some attention from a filmmaker. He’s moved up from the bottom rungs of Italian football and now calls the biggest club in Italy his home. (One, by the way, that his family very much rooted against prior to his arrival.)

Now, nearly two years after signing with Juventus even without a Serie A appearance to his name, Gatti has ensured that his future will remain on the black and white side of Turin.

Juventus announced Wednesday that the 25-year-old Gatti has signed a contract extension through 2028. Gatti was one of the first names thrown out there by the Italian media as somebody who was being looked at by the Juventus management when it came to a new long-term deal. And now, less than two months later, Gatti has himself a new contract and the kind of long-term security that he probably never had as he was working his way up the Serie A ladder and grinding it out in the lower leagues.

Not bad for a former bricklayer, huh?

Gatti signed from Frosinone in January of 2022, one of the last signings from Juventus’ former board that all resigned 10 months later during the World Cup break. He had worked his way up from Serie D to Serie C and played so well in Serie B with Frosinone he earned his first Italy cap before making his first Juventus appearance. He was named Serie B’s defender of the season that same 2021-22 campaign.

Since his Juventus debut — one that Max Allegri slow played considering his inexperience at the top level of Italian football — it has been a baptism by fire for Gatti. At times he has looked unfazed by things. Other times, it’s been a struggle. No matter what, though, Gatti has worn his emotions on his sleeve, playing with the same intense style that we saw from former Juve captain Giorgio Chiellini.

Gatti had this to say about his contract extension — which, by the way, was the chance to see a dude who probably doesn’t wear a suit very often actually rocking a suit:

“This renewal means a lot,. Every morning on my way to training I pass by the house where I grew up and where my family and my grandfather lived. Passing by it makes me think back to the past. When I started leaving home for football, I was 20 years old, I never thought I would return to live in Turin. Instead I came back here, to Juventus, it’s a dream every day. Every now and then I joke with my classmates who tell me that I live a dream. And it’s the truth.

“Am I an example? If so, I’m very pleased. I would like to convey what I have experienced, to give everyone a stimulus. I have experienced first-hand what it means to overcome difficulties and always believe in overcoming them. And now I’m not going to settle or stop, quite the opposite.”

(Source: juventus.com)

Gatti’s contract extension is the first of many that Juventus’ new, Cristiano Giuntoli-led sporting team hope to get done over the next few months, as the new sporting director continues to construct the squad in his vision over the next few transfer windows.