OFICIAL: Axel Witsel Joins Atlético Madrid

Written by Patrick Echatah

Atlético Madrid announced Axel Witsel’s arrival on Wednesday afternoon, with the veteran midfielder joining the Rojiblancos on a one-year contract. The club’s statement does not mention anything about an option for the 2023/24 season, which had been reported previously.

LATEST POSTS

More Details

Witsel is a decorated midfielder who has won trophies at each club for which he’s played in his professional career, which began in his native Belgium in 2007. He has made 119 appearances in European competition, and for his country, he has been selected to play in two World Cups and two European Championships.

Atlético’s statement describes Witsel as a pivot who stands out for his physicality and ball distribution, with an ability to dominate aerially thanks to his size (6’1’’, 180 pounds).

Atlético Madrid are on the verge of completing a free transfer for Belgium international midfielder Axel Witsel, who will take the outgoing Héctor Herrera’s salary slot and compete with Geoffrey Kondogbia in defensive midfield.

Belgian outlet RTBF Sport had the news first, and Marca and Relevo have since corroborated it. Diego Simeone and sporting director Andrea Berta met with Witsel as the player was progressing in negotiations to join Olympique Marseille. Turkish club Fenerbahçe and multiple Major League Soccer clubs were also interested in signing the 33-year-old, but it seems he’s chosen to join LaLiga for the first time in his career.

Witsel is set to finalize a one-year contract to join Atlético, and the deal holds an option for a further season. Reports claim that he could arrive in Madrid next week for a physical, after which the club would announce his signing.

Witsel made 41 appearances in all competitions for Dortmund in 2021/22 and scored twice in 29 Bundesliga games (22 starts), returning to action after suffering an Achilles tendon tear in early 2021. He made better than nine recoveries per 90 minutes last season and remains a sharp and reliable passer, exceeding 93 percent accuracy in each of his four seasons in Germany. He can deputize at center-back in a pinch.

Atlético will not get anything exciting out of Witsel, whose 67 minutes per match played last season stands as his lowest average since his age-17 season at Standard Liège.

Meanwhile…

Badajoz-based real estate development group Civitas Pacensis is set to replace the Wanda Group and become Atlético Madrid’s new stadium sponsor from this coming season.

The Más Atlético website had the information first on Saturday night, revealing Atlético will bring in a little more than the €10 million a year it received over the course of the recently-expired agreement with the Wanda conglomerate.

The Metropolitano will be renamed Estadio Civitas Metropolitano if the five-year deal goes ahead as reported, and both sides hope the agreement can be announced sometime this month — the new stadium name was reportedly registered on Friday.

Marca’s Pablo Egea corroborated this information later in the evening, claiming Civitas is well-placed to strike a deal with Atlético and cautioning that nothing has been finalized yet.

(intothecalderon)

Do you have a story tip?
Kindly Email: keepup@bettitude.com

You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube

Bookmark (0)

Please login to bookmark