Atletico Madrid has completed their third signing of the summer transfer window, with Thiago Almada join Botafogo.
It has been a busy few weeks for Athleti, who closes deals for Alex Baena and Matteo Ruggeri earlier this month. Johnny Cardoso is also ready to participate in the very near future, but moreover they have now signed Almada, for whom they have only taken a serious step in recent days.
The 24-year-old, who was on loan last season in Lyon, agreed a five-year contract with Atleti, who confirmed the deal on Tuesday.
“Atlético de Madrid and Botafogo FR have agreed the transfer of 24-year-old Argentinian international Thiago Almada, who will travel to Madrid to undergo the corresponding medical and then sign his contract to formalize the agreement.”
According to Matteo Moretto, Athleti pays € 21 million for 50% of Almada's rights, although there can be clauses that the club can buy to gradually remove the sales clause that Botafogo has retained as part of this agreement.
Almada arrives in the Riyadhair Metropolitano to strengthen an already Strong Argentinian contingent, including Diego Simeone, his son Giuliano and Julian Alvarez. His signing, however, is quite confusing on the face, given that Atleti has already brought in Baena, which has a similar profile.
In this respect it may be that Almada is seen as a more replacement for Angel Correa, who left Athleti earlier in the month to become a member of Tigres. He is able to play the striker, which could mean that Simeone works a 4-4-1-1-1 instead of a 4-4-2 when he is on the field.
In addition to Almada and Cardoso, Atleti hopes to sign a new central defender. They are no longer planning to sign Cristian Romero, and with this deal with Botafogo that has been completed, less money can be available to sign a top center back.