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Tag: Atletico Madrid

  • Morata to join Atletico Madrid on permanent deal

    Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata will join Atletico Madrid on a permanent basis after his 18-month loan expires at the end of next season.

    Morata, 26, has been at Atletico since January, scoring six goals in 17 games for the Spanish side.
    He was Chelsea’s record signing when he joined for £60m from Real Madrid on a five-year contract in July 2017 and scored 24 goals in 72 games.
    The former Real Madrid and Juventus player won the FA Cup while at Chelsea.
    “Happy it’s official,” Morata, who joined Atletico as a youth player in 2005, said on social media.
    In a statement, Atletico said: “The Spanish striker will play at our club on loan this season, as was agreed when he joined Atletico in the January transfer window, and the move will become permanent at the beginning of the 2020-21 season.”
    Atletico signed Portugal forward Joao Felix this month for £113m from Benfica – making him the fifth most-expensive transfer in history.
    The La Liga club also signed Mexico midfielder Hector Herrera and Brazil centre-back Felipe from Porto.
    Atletico striker Antoine Griezmann has confirmed he will leave the club this summer, with Barcelona expected to pay his buyout clause of 120m euros.
    But Atletico say they have rejected Barcelona’s offer and ordered Frenchman Griezmann to report for pre-season.

  • Man Utd make last-minute £95m Griezmann move

    Manchester United will attempt to hijack Antoine Griezmann’s long-awaited transfer to Barcelona, according to The Sun.

    The Reds hope to take advantage of Barca’s delaying in making the move official with their own approach, which could total more than £95 million ($120m).

    PSG are also watching intently at the lack of activity around the Atletico Madrid favourite.

    Early last month, Griezmann informed Atletico that he will deposit his €120m release clause in July.

    The player’s release clause is currently €200million, after he signed a new contract with Atletico just last summer.

  • Juventus shares soar after Champions League win against Atletico

    Juventus shares soared more than 20 per cent and were on track for their biggest one-day gain in five and half years on Wednesday.

    The Italian soccer team overturned a two-goal deficit to defeat Atletico Madrid in a key Champions League match.

    The victory on Tuesday night puts the Turin side through to the quarter finals of the competition, qualifying them for about a 10.5 million euro (£9 million) payment.

    The cash would be on top of the 9.5 million euros the club received for getting through to the final 16 teams.

    At 08:31 GMT, the shares were up 16 percent after hitting their highest since late January in early trading.

    The shares were on track for their best day since October 2013.

  • Ronaldo hat-trick kicks Atletico out of Champions League

    Ronaldo hat-trick kicks Atletico out of Champions League

    Cristiano Ronaldo’s hat-trick helped Juventus to storm back from a 2-0 first leg deficit and beat Atletico Madrid 3-0 to earn a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday.

    Ronaldo stole the show with two headers and a late penalty kick on an ecstatic night for the Turin side.

    With Atletico Madrid packing their defence, Ronaldo made the crucial breakthrough in the 27th minute when he rose to head in Federico Bernardeschi’s cross at the far post.

    The 34-year-old levelled the aggregate scores in the last-16 clash three minutes after halftime with another towering header, this time from Joao Cancelo’s cross.

    With four minutes left, Bernardeschi powered into the Atletico area, and was pushed in the back by Angel Correa.

    Ronaldo then blasted home the resulting penalty kick for his hat-trick, his team’s victory for a 3-2 aggregate win and passage into the quarter-finals.

  • UCL: Atletico overcome VAR setback to beat Juve

    Atletico Madrid claimed a big victory over Juventus in the Champions League last 16 first leg thanks to two goals from their centre-backs at set-pieces.

    Diego Simeone’s side were denied a penalty and an Alvaro Morata goal by the video assistant referee before they opened the scoring.

    Jose Maria Gimenez pounced from eight yards after Morata’s header was blocked by Mario Mandzukic.

    Diego Godin netted a half-volley, via a deflection off Cristiano Ronaldo.

    Striker Costa and midfielder Thomas Partey of Atletico Madrid and Juve left-back Alex Sandro will all miss the second leg on Tuesday, 12 March after picking up their third bookings of the tournament.

    Ronaldo – who is aiming to win a sixth Champions League and a fourth in a row – had Juve’s best chance as his powerful 35-yard free-kick was tipped over by Jan Oblak.

  • Chelsea’s Morata joins Atletico Madrid on loan

    Chelsea striker Alvaro Morata has joined Spanish club Atletico Madrid on loan until the end of the 2019-20 season.

    The 26-year-old joined Chelsea from Real Madrid in July 2017 for a then club-record fee of £60m on a five-year contract.

    He has made 47 Premier League appearances for the Blues, scoring 16 times.

    Morata played for Atletico as a youngster before joining Real Madrid.

    He had a medical in Spain on Sunday.

    The move comes after Chelsea signed Argentina striker Gonzalo Higuain on loan last week.

    His last appearance for Chelsea was against Nottingham Forest in the FA Cup on 5 January where he scored both goals in their 2-0 victory.

    “Morata has proven himself as a prolific goalscorer in some of Europe’s most competitive leagues,” Atletico said on their website.

    Morata said: “I’m very happy and proud to be here. I can’t wait to start training, meet my new team-mates and play.”

  • Chelsea flop Morata set for Atletico medical

    Chelsea flop Alvaro Morata will have a medical with Atletico Madrid on Sunday ahead of finalising his loan move from Stamford Bridge, according to SkySports.

    Morata joined Chelsea from Real Madrid on a five-year contract for a then-club-record £57m fee in July 2017, while Antonio Conte was in charge.

    He scored seven goals in his first eight games for the club, but finished his first season at the club with just 11 Premier League goals.

    Morata’s exit has come after Gonzalo Higuain joined Chelsea on loan from Juventus for the remainder of the season.

    Chelsea have the option to extend the loan deal for a season or buy Higuain outright for £31m, according to Juventus.

  • Transfer news: Alvaro Morata agrees to join Atletico Madrid

    Chelsea striker, Alvaro Morata has agreed to join Atletico Madrid in this January transfer window.

    This claim was made by respected Spanish football pundit, Guillem Balague.

    According to Balague, the deal is subject to Chelsea signing a replacement and Atletico selling striker, Nikola Kalinic.

    Meanwhile, Chelsea are believed to have agreed a deal with Juventus to sign striker, Gonzalo Higuain this month on loan until the end of the season.

    “Morata has already agreed deal with Atletico Madrid. It seems to be a matter of finding a buyer for (Nikola) Kalinic,” Balague told BBC Radio 5 live.

    “Everything else seems to be in place for Morata to abandon what feels like a nightmare.”

    Morata has struggled at Stamford Bridge since joining Chelsea from Real Madrid last summer.

    The 26-year-old was dropped by Blues manager, Maurizio Sarri in Chelsea’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle United in the Premier League encounter last weekend.

    Chelsea will now tackle Arsenal in their next Premier League fixture on Saturday.

  • Girona knock Atletico out of Copa del Rey in six-goal thriller

    Girona knock Atletico out of Copa del Rey in six-goal thriller

    Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side.

    Girona sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.

    Atletico substitute Antoine Griezmann looked to have completed a late turnaround for Diego Simeone’s side, who were trailing 2-1 in the second half.

    He put the hosts 3-2 up in the 84th minute.

    Yet Girona forward Seydou Doumbia delivered a final twist in the saga by scoring at the other end four minutes later.

    Croatian forward Nikola Kalinic had fired Atletico Madrid into an early lead.

    But the packed Wanda Metropolitano stadium was stunned into silence by a jaw-dropping volley from Girona winger Valery Fernandez in the 36th minute.

    Atletico Madrid, already missing several first-team regulars to injury, lost Spain midfielder Saul Niguez to a muscle problem early in the second half.

    They suffered another setback soon after when Cristhian Stuani headed Girona in front following a free kick.

    This sparked furious but futile protests from Atletico Madrid who claimed the Uruguayan had fouled their captain Diego Godin.

    Griezmann came off the bench on the hour mark and soon threaded a pass towards Kalinic which Argentine winger Angel Correa squeezed under Girona’s goalkeeper to equalise.

    Godin then hit the crossbar and Santiago Arias had a goal ruled out for offside as Atletico Madrid chased a winner.

    France forward Griezmann prompted wild celebrations when he smashed into the roof of the net.

    But the mood was soon punctured by Doumbia, also a substitute.

    He poked home a shot from Borja Garcia to send Girona through and dump out Atletico, who have not won the Copa del Rey since 2013.

  • Griezmann strikes for fifth game in a row to give Atletico narrow win

    Griezmann strikes for fifth game in a row to give Atletico narrow win

    Antoine Griezmann proved to be Atletico Madrid’s decisive figure yet again as the Frenchman struck the only goal in a 1-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.

    The victory kept Diego Simeone’s side in touch with La Liga leaders Barcelona.

    Griezmann smashed home from the penalty spot in the 57th minute to score for the fifth consecutive game in all competitions after Levante midfielder Nikola Vukcevic was penalised for handball in the area.

    Levante, who were perhaps feeling the effects of beating Barcelona 2-1 on Thursday the Copa del Rey, produced a scrappy display.

    But they had one chance to level when Jose Luis Morales was played in. However, the forward’s shot bounced off the chest of Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.

    Atletico dominated the first half without creating too many chances and thought they had taken the lead when Koke netted in the 10th minute.

    However, the goal was disallowed for a foul by midfielder Rodri after a video assistant referee (VAR) review.

    Simeone was forced to field usual right back Juanfran on the left of defence due to personnel shortages.

    Unfortunately, the Argentine coach suffered yet another injury setback in defence when centre back Stefan Savic had to be substituted early in the game.

    The win took second-placed Atletico on to 38 points after 19 games, two points behind pace setters Barcelona who host Eibar later on Sunday.

    Despite the narrow scoreline, Simeone said he thought his side had played well and explained why he rushed on to the pitch to embrace his players when the fulltime whistle came.

    “It was one of our best displays this season, along with (the 2-0 win over) Borussia Dortmund. We always were looking to take the game to our opponents and kept pressing high.

    “We had to overcome the ruled out goal and Savic’s injury and we reset ourselves, against a very good team,” Simeone said.

    “When players give their lives on the pitch like they did today it makes me emotional.

    “Today was a day to give everyone a hug because they all made a huge effort.”

    Reuters/NAN