Marca report that Atlético Madrid are contending with a tangled web of outgoing transfer situations this summer, with potential departures across multiple positions – José Giménez, Clément Lenglet, Alexander Sørloth and Thiago Almada all identified as players whose futures at the club are in serious doubt – conditioning how much room sporting director Mateu Alemany has to operate in the market beyond the two signings already completed.
As previously covered on Football Espana, the Julián Álvarez (26, Argentine) saga remains the dominant storyline of Los Colchoneros’ summer, with the striker having publicly described a move to Barcelona as “el sueño” – the dream – during the World Cup, amplifying the uncertainty around his future. The departures examined below sit in a different register to the Álvarez situation but are no less consequential for Atlético’s ability to reshape the squad.
Giménez: the weight of 13 years against a changed sporting reality
The distinction worth drawing in Giménez’s case is between his symbolic importance and his current footballing utility. José Giménez (29, Uruguayan) is the club’s third captain and has spent 13 years at the Metropolitano, a tenure that places him alongside Antoine Griezmann in the modern canon of long-serving Colchonero figures. Marca note that Atlético’s sports management will not exert excessive pressure on the defender to force an exit through that door – the institutional respect runs too deep for that.
The sporting arithmetic, however, has shifted. Marca report that Giménez has been hampered by injuries again this season, playing well below the threshold of minutes that would make him a reliable rotation option, let alone a starter. Sport, via Football España, have reported that Mateu Alemany is prepared to sanction at least one “painful sale” in central defence to fund incoming business, with Giménez explicitly named as a candidate if a sizeable offer materialises. Reports from Matteo Moretto also indicate that interest from Argentina and Italy has already been relayed to the club, suggesting the market for the Uruguayan is real rather than speculative.
With two years remaining on his contract, Atlético hold reasonable leverage but the window for extracting meaningful value may be narrowing as his injury record accumulates. The club’s reported position – aligned with Giménez himself in seeking a “new start” following the World Cup – suggests this is less a forced departure than a mutually acknowledged parting of ways.
Lenglet: a misjudged signing and the cost of gross errors
Clément Lenglet’s (29, French) situation is structurally similar – two years left, departure targeted – but the circumstances are considerably more awkward. Marca report that Lenglet was signed just one year ago on a three-year deal and has not progressed beyond being the fifth-choice centre-back in Simeone’s rotation. Sport note that his fall from favour is directly tied to “a series of errors” in the matches he did play, several of which cost Atlético points in meaningful fixtures.
The distinction worth drawing here is between a player who has been unlucky and one who has been given opportunities and squandered them. Lenglet’s low acquisition cost – reported at around €3m – means there is no inflated fee to recoup, but persuading the defender to tear up a contract with a year and two seasons still to run is another matter. Marca frame “giving him his freedom letter” as a feasible option while acknowledging that it hinges on the Frenchman’s willingness to accept an early exit. Whether Atlético are prepared to pay out a portion of the remaining deal to accelerate the separation has not been confirmed in any report to date.
Sørloth and Almada: the revenue cases that matter most
The financial logic of this summer’s outgoing business rests most heavily on Alexander Sørloth (30, Norwegian) and Thiago Almada (24, Argentine). Both are playing as starters at the World Cup – Sørloth for Norway, Almada for Argentina – and Marca are explicit that their potential sales represent a fundamentally different order of income compared to whatever can be extracted from the two centre-backs. These are the deals that would directly enable Alemany to pursue further inbound reinforcements beyond Alejandro Grimaldo and Kang-in Lee, who are already confirmed as the first two arrivals.
Marca link Sørloth to Serie A and Almada to Saudi Arabia, framing each as a “strategic departure” rather than a purely sporting decision – though the sporting logic is present too. Separate reporting frames Sørloth’s exit as a way of generating funds for a new centre-forward, while Almada’s departure would require Atlético to source a versatile attacking option capable of covering several positions across the front line. The extent to which their World Cup performances enhance their market value – and by how much – will have a direct bearing on the final figures Atlético can command.
What this means for Atlético Madrid’s summer
The collective picture is of a club attempting to execute a significant squad reset while managing the emotional and financial complexity of exits at multiple levels simultaneously. Marca identify the governing constraint clearly: the proceeds from outgoing transfers will determine the scope of Alemany’s inbound activity, and the two cases most likely to generate substantial funds – Sørloth and Almada – are also the ones most contingent on post-World Cup interest crystallising into concrete bids.
The broader context, reported across multiple Spanish outlets earlier this cycle, is that Atlético have already confirmed that contract expiries will see Axel Witsel and César Azpilicueta leave, while Ángel Correa has agreed a move to Tigres. The cumulative loss of experienced players and leaders is considerable, and the Giménez situation – if it does result in a departure – would represent yet another significant reduction in the dressing-room experience the squad can draw on. Fichajes and Yahoo-syndicated coverage have described the operation as a genuine “revolution,” with the risk that moving too fast on too many fronts could destabilise the group before reinforcements bed in.
Whether Alemany can sequence the departures efficiently enough to fund two or three meaningful arrivals before the September deadline will be the practical test of whether this summer is remembered as a well-managed transition or a reactive scramble.
The next meaningful development will be whether the conclusion of the World Cup triggers the concrete bids from Serie A and Saudi clubs that Marca and Sport have flagged as the likeliest outcomes – and whether Giménez, in particular, emerges from the tournament with his value intact and a credible offer on the table, finally resolving a situation that has been framed as a near-certain departure for several months without yet producing a definitive conclusion.
