Here we are again: Atlético de Madrid are searching for a new starting left-back.
Renan Lodi. Yannick Carrasco. Sergio Reguilón. Samuel Lino. Javi Galán. Matteo Ruggeri. Atlético have tried them all at the position in which Filipe Luis was (in my opinion) the world’s best for about a half-decade, and after the club’s succession plan in Lucas Hernández departed for Bayern Munich seven years ago. Only Carrasco (who wasn’t a full-back in the traditional sense) stuck there for multiple seasons.
Ruggeri
may yet remain in Atlético’s squad for 2026/27, but the club clearly plans to replace him with a better player. Upon coming up short in the race to sign Marc Cucurella, Atleti are targeting Cucurella’s Spain teammate Álex Grimaldo in a much more economically-viable deal.
However, a deal probably is not as close as the media in Spain is indicating.
On Friday, Cadena SER’s Pedro Fullana and Cadena COPE’s Antonio Ruiz both said that Atlético were close to completing a deal for Grimaldo, who has spent the past three seasons at Bayer Leverkusen and helped the perennial Bundesliga bridesmaids win an invincible German championship in 2024. Fullana even claimed that Grimaldo and Leverkusen had agreed that he could leave the club for “a figure under €15 million” this summer amid his publicized desire to return to Spain and play in LaLiga.
But German media quickly disputed the idea that Grimaldo could leave for a modest fee between €10 million and €15 million (and to be fair, so did Rubén Uría).
“Bayer Leverkusen and Atlético de Madrid are holding talks over Grimaldo,” Uría said on Twitter. “The German club is asking Atleti for a figure close to €25 million. The clubs continue to talk. There is an agreement between Grimaldo and Atlético de Madrid.”
Sky Germany’s Florian Plettenberg said Saturday that Bayer Leverkusen are open to selling Grimaldo with a year left on his contract and are actively looking for a replacement. But any agreement to sell one of their captains would have to be closer to their terms and not Atleti’s. That follows reporting from German outlets Bild and Kicker, which claimed Leverkusen’s initial demand was €30 million for the 30-year-old.
“Leverkusen would prefer for Grimaldo to run down his contract than for him to leave for much less than they’re asking a year earlier,” DAZN’s Andrés Weiss said. “They don’t want to put obstacles in Grimaldo’s way, but they also don’t want to let one of their stars go for nothing (i.e. a small fee) before his contract ends.”
Sporting director Mateu Alemany would much prefer to work in silence and without the leaks that are surely emanating from Miguel Ángel Gil’s list of contacts. Though Grimaldo remains firmly within Atlético’s price range, the media posturing is making a deal more expensive and difficult to finalize. Plus, Leverkusen know that Atleti are desperate to sign another left-back after years of market misfires — and as one of Europe’s best-run clubs, they are determined to get what they want for a player they value highly.
Not that there’s a rush to get this done in the next 48 hours anyway. Atleti may well finalize a transfer for Grimaldo in the next week, but the club will want it to appear on the 2026/27 books — especially if it’s going to cost in the region of €20 million, which is coincidentally the player’s market value on Transfermarkt. Having an agreement already with Grimaldo, who turns 31 in September, should help the negotiations reach a successful conclusion.
And Leverkusen of course value Grimaldo as one of their most important players: he’s been one of Europe’s best full-backs since he joined. Grimaldo has recorded 47 goal contributions over the past three years in Germany — and that’s just in league play. He has created at least 100 chances across all competitions in each season while demonstrating impressive set-piece prowess, particularly on free kicks.
While not as defensively sound as Cucurella, Grimaldo offers significant versatility across four- and five-defender systems. His passing and ball progression are nearly unmatched at his position, and he can be utilized at wing-back and even in midfield in addition to left-back in a four-man back line.
