Someone in the Atlético Madrid boardroom must not agree with the club’s public contention that Diego Simeone’s squad is closed for the 2025/26 season. That’s because, according to Matteo Moretto, Atlético on Saturday submitted an official offer to sign Juventus winger Nico González, who has had personal terms agreed with the Rojiblancos for several days.
TyC Sports reporter Germán García Grova has said that Atlético’s offer for González, a two-time Copa América champion with Argentina, is a loan with an option to buy — a formula that previous reports had indicated was not of interest to Juventus, which asked for a permanent sale or a loan with an obligation to buy for around €30 million.
However, with the window winding down and Nico not a part of Juve boss Igor Tudor plans, the Italian giants could well accept an offer from Atlético — which had been filtering out for weeks that Simeone would not get any more additions without a departure from the current squad.
If this stance from the club has changed, one look at LaLiga’s table makes it easy to understand why. Atlético are off to its worst start since 2009; Simeone’s men have picked up two points out of nine possible, and they have scratched across only three goals (all in the first half, and one from a free kick) in a sluggish start to the new campaign.
One year ago, Nico joined Juventus from Fiorentina on an initial loan that was made into a permanent €28 million transfer just this summer. He swapped Florence for Turin after scoring 14 goals during the 2023/24 season and helping the Viola to a historic UEFA Europa Conference League final. A left-footed winger who plays on the right flank, Nico has strong aerial ability and an eye for goal; he would compete with Giuliano Simeone, the squad’s only other natural winger, though neither player is the dribbling, “unbalancing” winger the club reportedly sought to add to Simeone’s squad for the past several months.
The opening three games of the new season have laid bare serious issues in the Atleti squad. The club spent a ton of money this summer and never replaced Rodrigo De Paul; the defensive depth is still a joke, especially when Simeone inexplicably moves his best center-back to left-back; there is no reliable partner for Julián Alvarez. Nico will not solve everything but, in a squad light on left-footers and wide players who offer a goal threat, he will address one of the side’s numerous problems.
