Direct Athletic - Elche (7.30pm)
Despite the intense summer noise, Saúl Ñíguez (Elche, 1994) continues where he always has.
The same one where he has been doing it without interruption since he made the final leap to the Atlético first team, seven years ago (2014).
He was only 19.
For months, while Atlético walked towards its eleventh league title, Saúl's future, sometimes in need of greater media attention, has been shaking on a tremendous wave. Last January he explained to the world that his mental state was not the best. Obviously, his sports performance has not been for a couple of seasons either. If he was present in the recent sprint to win the league title, it was more because of
Lemar's
physical problems
than because of his own merits.
So, that strident noise placed him in the Premier, in the Bundesliga and, later, in the Camp Nou.
Few would have dared to bet that this afternoon, in Wanda's first match with the public (not counting the one that the national team played against Portugal) since March 7, 2020, in front of their beloved Elche, the team from their homeland and from his heart, he would appear again through the access tunnel to the green of the rojiblanco stadium.
From his stadium.
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"There have never been offers for him at this time. Nor an open conversation with another club," they reveal to this newspaper from the offices of the rojiblanco club. Since the preseason started,
Bayern
,
Liverpool
or
Manchester United
, apart from Barcelona, presented themselves as possible suitors for Saúl. His
150 million
clause
would not have been an impediment. If a firm offer had arrived, Atlético would have had no problem negotiating for a lower figure (its market value is
40
).
Despite the noise arising from its surroundings, it is one of the pieces most appreciated by the club and, of course, by Simeone.
"Atlético loves him and he loves Atlético," they emphasize in the rojiblanca entity.
The Camp Nou option
The only real option for his departure took place just over a month ago. The economic hardships of Barcelona, which was looking for formulas to retain Messi as it were, put
Antoine Griezmann
on the market
. And as the Frenchman only valued the option of returning to Madrid, the Barça club proposed a barter with
Joao Félix
as the first option
. After Atlético's refusal, the name of Saúl appeared, whose wishes to change of scene came more from his environment than from his own mouth. The man from Elche met the requirements for the exchange: a player with a high salary (six million net), with a long history (26 years) and a top-level player (338 games with Atlético). The operation was diluted by the magnitude of Griezmann's salary.
At the start of the preseason,
Diego Pablo Simeone
, Saúl's tutor and umbrella, revealed some of the reasons why the footballer, with a contract until 2026, would have the intention of leaving.
"Last season he spoke with the club and with us about his needs and about the option of occupying a place on the pitch where he feels more important. I believe that Saúl became Saúl by playing everywhere, but he, or many of those who surround him, see it as something negative, "the technician explained in an interview with the newspaper 'As'.
"What empowered him to be what he is was to play in different places and, when his level dropped, it was used to say that it had harmed him," he argued in his meeting with the newspaper Marca.
Saúl, during the match against Celta.Lavandeira JrEFE
A week ago, Saúl knelt on Balaídos grass after assisting Correa, in a play that ended up being worth a victory.
A gesture of anger and satisfaction in equal measure, while receiving
Koke's
warmth
.
He had returned to shine.
Few expected him in Simeone's starting eleven (maybe not even him) and, much less, as a left-winger, that position he always looks at with suspicion.
Thomas' precedent
Versatility served as a springboard in his day and is a quality that his coach has always valued and that has catapulted other teammates such as
Marcos Llorente
, who has only lacked playing as a goalkeeper.
The fact is that his agency, ICM Stellar Sports, the same one that just signed the multimillionaire transfer of
Jack Grealish
to Manchester City (118 million euros), has not found a better place for his client.
"He has come onto the market and he knows that where he is best is at Atlético," the Madrid club insists, where they praise the midfielder, the team's fourth captain: "Saúl works and works and is getting better and better. He competes and trains spectacularly. very good professional ".
At the Metropolitano they live in relative calm regarding their future, more because of the negative experience a year ago with Thomas (Arsenal paid their clause on the last day of the market) than because of the player's own reality: "He's plugged in and eager to prove something ".
Today, in front of his Elche, he will try to keep turning off the noise.
And it will, again, from the lane.
The place that can get the best Saul back.
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Know more
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