Atlético de Madrid and Deportivo de La Coruña have reached an agreement over a loan move for veteran defender Josema Giménez, according to multiple reports Tuesday.
Giménez’s departure had been a priority for months inside the club, but the 31-year-old center-back had dismissed inquiries from Mexican sides earlier in the summer and has remained at Atlético to begin the 2026/27 season. However, as the end of the Spanish transfer window loomed, multiple clubs — including Sevilla and Valencia — checked
in on Josema, who had played 37 minutes through three rounds to begin LaLiga.
Newly-promoted Deportivo though have won the race to sign Giménez, who will extend his Atlético contract by one year to 2029 to facilitate the move. It means the roughly €15 million in gross salary still coming to Giménez can be spread out over an additional season, reducing his annual cost by €2.5 million.
Depor will be responsible for a portion of Giménez’s salary, though Atlético still will pay the majority of what he is owed this season.
Giménez has spent his entire European career at Atleti, where he won the 2013/14 Liga as a teenager and claimed a second league title as one of the club’s captains in 2021. El Comandante ranks 13th in club history with 384 appearances, though repeated soft tissue injuries have cost him more than a hundred further games. In addition to the two league title wins, Giménez won a Supercopa de España in 2014 and the UEFA Europa League in 2018, alongside that summer’s UEFA Super Cup.
If Depor suffer relegation, Giménez surely will come back to Atleti next summer, just as Thomas Lemar did when his loan to Girona ended with the Catalan club’s descent to the second tier. Depor however have built a fairly strong squad for its return to LaLiga after eight years away, and the Galician side should secure safety as a result. Giménez will lend vital experience and quality to a young back line; his mentorship could prove particularly valuable to 21-year-old Lucas Noubi and 19-year-old Bright Ede, Depor’s starting center-back pair.
For Atleti, Giménez’s departure will leave Diego Simeone with four first-team central defenders: Dávid Hancko, Marc Pubill, Cuti Romero and Robin Le Normand. Dani Martínez could stay in the squad as an additional central defender or left-back, though Nicolás Tagliafico would supplant the 22-year-old Martínez if he completes his own deadline day transfer from Lyon.
