On the final day of the 2025/26 financial year, Atlético de Madrid announced
the signing of Bayer Leverkusen left-back Alejandro Grimaldo.Grimaldo, a Spain international, has signed a four-year contract to 2030 and figures to begin the new season as Matteo Ruggeri’s successor — less than a year after Atlético signed the Italian from Atalanta. The club created the margin to sign Grimaldo before the transfer window opened by completing a deal with Benfica for Clément Lenglet.
Born in Valencia, Grimaldo
joined FC Barcelona’s famed academy, La Masía, in 2008. He made 92 appearances for Barcelona B but never debuted for the first team before Benfica signed him in December 2015. He made more than 300 appearances for the Portuguese giants before he departed on a free transfer in 2023.
It was upon joining Leverkusen that Grimaldo took the next step in his career. Under Xabi Alonso’s tutelage, Grimaldo almost immediately became one of Europe’s most dangerous full-backs and a feared set-piece specialist. Grimaldo scored 10 goals and provided 13 assists in 2023/24 as Leverkusen won an unforgettable Bundesliga title, as well as the German Cup.
Grimaldo now returns to Spain after three years in Germany, in a transfer worth around €20 million. Though he turns 31 in September, Grimaldo is in the prime of his career and will find several of his national teammates — like Álex Baena, Marcos Llorente and Marc Pubill — waiting for him after Spain’s participation in the FIFA World Cup concludes. Spain plays Austria in the round of 32 from Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium on Thursday.
Grimaldo is the most accomplished player that Atleti have signed at left-back since Filipe Luis departed the club in 2019. Though Ruggeri impressed in big games last season, his inconsistency in the league, his stylistic similarity to Grimaldo and continued speculation about his private life make his position in the team rather insecure entering the new season. Grimaldo’s experience and track record should assuage concerns over the position and give Diego Simeone a creative force in a four- or five-defender system.
