Villarreal playmaker Alex Baena has been one of the most consistent and exciting artists in La Liga in recent seasons, but after rejecting a move to Saudi -Arabia in January, it seems that the yellow submarine should say goodbye to him this summer. Baena has a release clause of € 60 million and a number of giants in Europe are interested in him.
In the first place Atletico Madrid. Baena has been one of their top goals this summer and has already opened informal conversations with Villarreal for this. The yellow submarine has noted that they would be willing to accept around € 50 million for Baena, but Atletico is considering lowering the price by including a player in the deal.
Anyway, Eduardo Burgos has reported that Los Colchoneros is hopeful about closing a deal for Baena before the club World Cup in June. He does say that no formal negotiations have taken place and explains that Bayern Munich and Manchester United also asked about the services of Baena. Probably the price tag would not be a problem for none of those parties.
Baena has been in good shape again this season, after he had been broken into in the Spain team last summer, played a role in their victory in Euro 2024 and a main list in their Olympic gold medal just a few weeks later. This season, Baena played 28 games, scored six times and gave eight assists.
In the past two seasons, no player has given more assists than Baena in Spain, with a remarkable 18 assists in all competitions, although Villarreal was in the Europa League last season. Competent with set pieces, with an excellent vision and a competitive advantage, if there is something, it is surprising that Baena was not the subject of more interest last summer. Aston Villa has held an approach in the past and Baena has pronounced admiration for Barcelona.