Atlético Madrid quietly confirmed Rodrigo De Paul’s €15 million transfer to Inter Miami on Friday night in Spain.
Atlético announced the transfer with a 91-word statement on its website, which touted De Paul’s major accomplishment in four years in the capital: he played in 187 official matches. The club wished him “the best of luck in his future personal and professional projects” and posted a 57-second highlight reel that showed nine of the 14 goals he scored over these four years.
¡Gracias, De Paul!
ADpic.twitter.com/mNVkyK0jck
— Atlético de Madrid (@Atleti) July 25, 2025
So ends the Atlético career of Rodrigo De Paul — on its face, in a way that does not suit such a charismatic and talented player.
I watched the clip above maybe three or four times and a surreal feeling took hold. It was a feeling that De Paul, for all that talent and charisma and importance to the team, leaves Atlético having accomplished absolutely nothing of substance in this shirt.
The disappointment De Paul leaves behind is magnified after he produced his best statistical season as a Rojiblanco. Until the middle of March, the Argentine was the dominant figure in the Atlético midfield.
No Atleti player completed (1,449) or attempted (1,773) more passes in LaLiga. No Atleti player completed more passes into the final third (180) or passes into the penalty area (58). No Atleti player carried the ball more frequently into the final third, no Atleti player drew as many fouls as he did, no Atleti played touched the ball as often as #5 in red and white.
It is objectively something of an astonishment that a player as influential as De Paul is leaving without much fanfare — and to Major League Soccer, of all leagues, to play alongside Lionel Messi at Inter Miami. At 31, it is an admission that he is done playing football at the elite level — although some of the player’s actions, even during this past season, foreshadowed that the languid pace of life in Miami would suit him.
Let's not forget Rodri De Paul pre-assisted the goal of the season last season ♥️. pic.twitter.com/tIfYGGFwTg
— A LaLiga Fan (@A_Laliga_Fan) July 26, 2025
It was reported earlier this month that Diego Simeone did not want De Paul to leave; the club swiftly overruled him, after I argued in May that a sale was the only forward with De Paul’s contract entering its final season. Atlético should re-enter the midfield market for another player, though swift adaptation from Johnny Cardoso and further development from Pablo Barrios will go a long way toward replacing De Paul’s output.
But the output and orchestration De Paul (sometimes) brought will not form a significant part of his legacy at this club. He left no legacy at this club; no major trophies, no finals played, three cup semifinal defeats that were not all down to him but demonstrated that for all his football, for all his personality, all he will leave behind is frustration — and the sense that he could have, should have, done much more with this opportunity.
De Paul never left the feeling that he cared about wearing this shirt. So I don’t really care that he’s gone.
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