Atletico Madrid have been on the hunt for a new sitting midfielder for some time, and after the fleeting Arthur Vermeeren experiment, are back to the drawing board. It appeared they had found their man in the shape of Real Betis’ and USMNT star Johnny Cardoso, but talks for the 23-year-old have slowed.
Cardoso is seemingly keen on a move, and has agreed in principle to a deal with Los Rojiblancos on personal terms. Tottenham Hotspur were also keen on a move for Cardoso, and have a €25m buy clause on him, but so far Cardoso has not shown a willingness to move to London. As things stand, he is prioritising Atletico.
🚨 OFFICIAL: IFAB’s full statement in reference to Julián Álvarez’s penalty injustice.
“The penalty should be retaken.” pic.twitter.com/S37pLu2bT2
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) June 3, 2025
Atletico Madrid unwilling to meet asking price
However Atletico have run into some roadblocks of their own. Los Colchoneros felt they could get a deal done for Cardoso for somewhere around the €25m mark that Spurs would have to pay in the event they executed that clause. Yet Cadena Cope (via Santiago Narvaez) have explained that talks are more complicated than that.
🟢🚨 Última hora #RealBetis.
👉 Informa @COPE que el Atlético NO está dispuesto a pagar los 40M€ que pide el Betis por Cardoso -como ya informamos días atrás-.
🔎 El equipo madrileño estaría buscando 𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐬 𝐨𝐩𝐜𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬 en el mercado.
✍️ Mi información es que Cardoso… pic.twitter.com/d0gOU3PxcR
— Santiago Narváez 🎙️ (@SantiagNarvaez) June 3, 2025
Betis are demanding €40m from Atletico for Cardoso, and as such, the Madrid-based side have begun to look at alternatives in the market. It is not ruled out that a content Cardoso remains at Betis next season either.
Value for money with Cardoso?
It is not yet clear what the other alternatives are for Atletico, but at Cardoso’s age and in his position, there is not a wealth of options, even if they do feel the price is disproportionate. Previously they had been most strongly linked with Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, who is out of contract, the previous midfielder they had that filled the position before Koke Resurreccion was moved into the role. That talk has cooled though, and it is not clear where his future lies.
