Atletico Madrid sign Memphis Depay as ex-Man Utd star completes cut price £2.6m transfer from cash-strapped Barcelona
MEMPHIS DEPAY has completed a transfer from Barcelona to Atletico Madrid.
The 28-year-old has been picked up by Atletico following Chelsea’s loan transfer of Joao Felix.
The fee for the transfer was agreed on Wednesday morning and is understood to be worth £2.6million.
Barca also say the deal includes a “preferential but not compulsory purchase option” for them to sign Atleti winger Yannick Carrasco.
Depay was given permission by Barcelona to miss training on Wednesday in order to complete the transfer.
And the ace was also allowed to join in Atletico’s training session yesterday.
He has signed a two and half year deal at the Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
The Dutchman joined Barcelona on a free transfer in 2021 after allowing his contract at Ligue 1 side Lyon to expire.
Despite initially being the club’s starting striker, the acquisitions of Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Robert Lewandowski soon saw him fall down the pecking order.
Following Aubameyang’s transfer to Chelsea on deadline day in the summer window, Depay’s game time has remained limited – partly owing to a thigh issue which saw him miss 12 games.
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But now, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season, Depay has left behind the cash-strapped Camp Nou in a cut-price deal.
He scored 14 times in 42 appearances for the club.
There was some reported interest in a transfer from the Premier League, with the likes of Arsenal, Newcastle and former club Manchester United all considering a move.
However, with Felix’s move away from Madrid, Diego Simeone pressed the club to sign Depay from the La Liga leaders.
Yannick Carrasco’s agent, Pini Zahavi, revealed there were talks for the Belgian to move in the opposite direction.
And following Barcelona’s “optional purchase” announcement, it remains to be seen whether the Belgian ends up at the Nou Camp before deadline day.