Atletico

Atletico Madrid have agreed a £34.2m (40m euros) fee to sign Cristian Romero from Tottenham.

The 28-year-old is set to become Atletico’s fourth signing of the summer, while Spurs will also retain a 15 per cent sell-on clause as part of the deal.

Argentina international Romero was the subject of interest from Premier League champions Arsenal in recent days, but Tottenham did not want to sell their captain to their north London rivals.

He leaves Tottenham after five seasons, having made 156 appearances for them, scoring 13 times, following an initial campaign on loan from Atalanta in 2021.

The centre-back played for Argentina during their run to the World Cup final this summer, missing just one game.

Romero was scheduled to return to pre-season with Spurs in the coming week after being given extra time off following the tournament in North America.

He captained the side last season as Tottenham narrowly avoided relegation from the Premier League.

Having signed permanently from Atalanta in a £42.5m deal, Romero became a key figure in their defence.

The news will be a blow to Spurs fans who are also set to lose Djed Spence to Inter Milan, who are in advanced talks to sign the England full-back in a £25.6m (30m euros) deal.

With the additions of midfielders Kang-in Lee and Morten Hjulmand and left-back Alejandro Grimaldo, Atletico are set to take their transfer spending over £100m this summer should they complete the Romero deal.

Head coach Diego Simeone is aiming to strengthen his squad after they finished fourth in La Liga last season, with Villarreal beating them to third place.

Last month, Atletico filed a complaint to FIFA over Barcelona allegedly tapping up the 26-year-old forward.

Atletico Madrid will not allow forward Julian Alvarez to leave the club during the current transfer window despite interest from Barcelona, coach Diego Simeone has said.

Last month, Atletico filed a complaint to FIFA over Barcelona allegedly tapping up Alvarez.

The Argentina international has also been linked with a possible move to Premier League champions Arsenal and was the subject of a rejected 150-million-euro ($173.4m) bid from Real Madrid in June.

“I think the situation is very clear. The club has made a decision that (CEO) Miguel Angel (Gil Marin) has explained very well,” Simeone told reporters on Saturday before a preseason friendly against Manchester City in Seoul.

“From a sporting perspective, we’re very happy to have a footballer like Julian…

“We will help him continue to grow, continue to improve and continue delivering the best – which has been a tremendous amount – that he has given us over the last two years.”

Alvarez is due to rejoin the Atletico squad in two days after taking a break following Argentina’s World Cup final loss to Spain.

While on World Cup duty, the 26-year-old said he “believed a transfer is best for everyone”, but did not confirm his preferred destination.

Alvarez has scored 49 goals for Atletico since signing from Manchester City two years ago.

“We don’t want to transfer him. We didn’t accept the 100-million-euro offer, nor will we accept one for 150 million or 200 million,” Gil Marin told the club’s in-house media channel.

“I have no doubt that Atletico is the right place for Julian and that Julian is the centre-forward for Atletico Madrid. We want to keep him.”

When asked about how Alvarez might be received by Atletico fans following the transfer speculation, Simeone pointed to Antoine Griezmann.

The Frenchman made a big-money move to Barcelona before returning to Atletico.

He was initially met with some hostility, but won the supporters back over and departed last season a club legend.

“We went through a period with Antoine in recent years where he had to leave, come back, and prove his quality and stature on the pitch,” said Simeone.

“I see no other path than focusing on the sporting side of things, doing our part and helping him [Alvarez], just as we have done over the last few years.”

Atletico get their La Liga campaign under way on August 19 with a home match against newly-promoted Malaga.

The capital club finished fourth last season, 25 points adrift of champions Barcelona.

Atletico Madrid have held talks over a move for Tottenham captain Cristian Romero.

The Argentina international, who signed a new four-year deal at Spurs last August, is expected to leave the club this summer.

There has also been interest from Inter Milan in signing the 28-year-old, who played all seven matches in Argentina’s run to the World Cup final last month, where they lost to Spain.

But Romero is a long-term target for Atletico manager Diego Simeone, with the Spanish side believed to be pressing ahead with another attempt to sign the centre-back.

Spurs are aware of Atletico’s interest and an agreement on personal terms for the player will not be an issue.

Spurs boss Roberto de Zerbi recently said he would “respect the will” of players if they wanted to leave.

Romero missed the end of last season with a knee injury as Spurs avoided relegation on the last day.

He was sent off twice last season as Spurs finished 17th.

Meanwhile, fellow centre-back Micky van de Ven is close to agreeing a new five-year deal with Tottenham.

Lee Kang-In makes the switch to Atletico after helping Paris Saint-Germain to consecutive Champions League titles.

South Korea midfielder Lee Kang-In has agreed to join Atletico Madrid from Paris Saint-Germain, the Spanish club.

Atletico said on Saturday the player would sign a contract through June 2031. The transfer fee was undisclosed, but it is reportedly between 35 and 40 million euros ($39.8m and $45.5m).

The 25-year-old Lee played all three group-stage games at the World Cup, where South Korea failed to advance after losing twice.

Born in Incheon, Lee moved to Spain when he was 10 to join Valencia’s training academy and ended up playing 62 games for the club. After a stint with Mallorca, he joined PSG in 2023, scoring 16 goals in 124 appearances.

He will now play for an Atletico side that finished La Liga in fourth place and reached the Copa del Rey final last season. Lee will help fill the creative void left by Antoine Griezmann, who has left for the MLS as Atletico’s all-time top scorer.

Argentina striker Julian Alvarez says he wants to leave Atletico Madrid to “fulfil his dream”.

The 26-year-old has reportedly drawn interest from Barcelona and Paris St-Germain, while Atletico rejected a 150m euro (£130m) offer for Alvarez from rivals Real Madrid earlier in June.

Alvarez is currently at the World Cup with Argentina and has come off the bench in their first two games after recovering from an ankle injury.

“I spoke with the people at [Atletico] I needed to speak with, and the best thing for everyone is a transfer. I want to fulfil my dream,” Alvarez said after Argentina’s World Cup win over Austria.

“It’s ‌not the time ‌to talk about this, but I also can’t ‌hide it. I try to be an honest person.”

Alvarez joined Atletico from Manchester City for £81.5m in the summer of 2024 and has scored 49 goals in 106 games, as well as providing 17 assists, for Diego Simeone’s side.

Having scored 17 goals in his first season in La Liga, the former River Plate forward managed only eight in 2025-26.

However, he excelled in the Champions League, scoring 10 goals to help Atletico reach the semi-finals, where they were beaten by Arsenal.

Real Madrid have had a 150m euro (£130m) offer for striker Julian Alvarez rejected by city rivals Atletico Madrid.

Real president Florentino Perez last week pledged to make a 150m euro offer for an unnamed “galactico” player if re-elected to his position.

Having successfully retained control on Sunday, Perez made good on his promise.

However, the move for the 26-year-old Argentina international was turned down by his club, who cited Alvarez’s release clause of 500m euros (£430m).

In a statement, Real said: “Following the meeting of the board of directors held today, it has made an offer of 150 million euros to Club Atletico de Madrid for the federative rights of the player Julian Alvarez.

“After reviewing and evaluating the offer, Club Atletico de Madrid has expressed its gratitude for the proposal, made within the framework of the good relations between both clubs, and has rejected it, referring to the player’s release clause.”

Atletico did not immediately comment.

Former Manchester City player Alvarez, who won the 2022 World Cup with Argentina, joined the La Liga club in an £81.5m deal in 2024.

He scored 20 goals in 49 appearances for Atletico last season as they finished fourth in the table and reached the Champions League semi-finals.