Atletico Madrid and Villarreal have already been involved in one deal this summer, and a second is about to be completed. Alex Baena swapped La Ceramica for the RiyadhAir Metropolitano earlier this month, and soon, Santiago Mourino will make the move in the opposite direction.
Villarreal have already signed one central defender this summer in ex-Real Madrid star Rafa Marin, but after Logan Costa suffered an ACL injury during a recent pre-season friendly, another option is needed for Marcelino Garcia Toral’s squad. And that option will almost certainly be Mourino.
The 23-year-old, who left Atleti last summer to join Alaves on a permanent deal, will be re-signed by Los Colchoneros, who will trigger the €4m buy-back clause that they have. And as per Diario AS, they will then immediately sell him to Villarreal for €10m, while also retaining a sell-on clause.
Mourino is the chosen one for Villarreal
In recent weeks, Villarreal have eyed moves for a number of centre-backs, including Chelsea’s Axel Disasi. But in the end, it is Mourino that will make the move to La Ceramica, with a deal likely to be wrapped up in the coming days. He will sign a five-year contract.
The sale of Mourino will represent a overall profit of roughly €5m for Atleti, who signed him for €2.7m in 2023 before a €2m sale to Alaves 12 months ago. €6m profit will be made this summer by activating the buy-back clause and selling him on to Villarreal, with that deal also taking the club’s overall income from sales close to €50m for the ongoing transfer window.
It’s clear that this is an operation that suits both Atleti and Villarreal, although Alaves will be disappointed to have lost a key player for so cheap – although there was nothing they could do to stop the deal from being done.
