Atletico Madrid’s rebuild has begun with the signing of Real Madrid’s Marcos Llorente.
Atletico Madrid’s summer is going to be a busy one but they got things started off on the right foot as they signed Marcos Llorente from city-rivals, Real Madrid. Atletico Madrid paid €40 million for the 24-year-old midfielder.
The club issued a press release confirming the deal and said the agreement was pending a medical test which is just a formality. His signing comes days after Rodrigo Hernandez informed the club that he was ready for a new challenge. That challenge, by all accounts, will be in the Premier League with Manchester City.
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In Marcos Llorente, Atletico Madrid is getting a young midfielder who has shown a lot of promise during his brief time at Real Madrid. The issue for him has been staying healthy. Injuries dragged him down but when healthy, offering a viable alternative to Casemiro.
For his part, it was important that he left Real Madrid because despite his performance when healthy, he was not going to be in their plans.
According to Marca, Zinedina Zidane had informed him that he did not count on him for next season. Llorente jumped at the chance when he learned that Atletico Madrid was interested in him. With the rumours regarding other players potentially coming in, Llorente knew that playing time at Real Madrid would likely be scarce.
At Atletico Madrid, not only does he get the opportunity for a fresh start, but he gets that opportunity at another big club that is in the Champions League and contends for the league title. He’ll also be under the tutelage of Simeone and everyone knows how much he values defence.
The interesting part of the deal is that it was between two clubs from the same city. The rivalry between Atletico and Real Madrid is intense so the fact that the two sides agreed on a deal is noteworthy in and of itself. Especially because Atletico have finished ahead of Real Madrid the past two season and the last thing they’d want to do is help them improve their team.
Either way, Atletico Madrid are not complaining. Marcos Llorente will be an Atletico Madrid player for the next five seasons. Time will tell but it may be a move that Real Madrid will come to regret.