Villa makes the shock switch from Barca to Atletico.
Barcelona’s David Villa has made the surprise decision to join Atletico Madrid despite Tottenham Hotspur having tracked the forward for some time.
Barca have confirmed on their website that the 31-year-old will join Atletico on an initial one-year deal for £1.8m, with a further installment of £1.7m if Villa extends his contract for another year, followed by another £860,000 if the striker stays for three seasons.
The Catalans are also entitled to 50% of any future fee Atleti may receive should they choose to sell the Spaniard in the future – although now in his 30s it is unlikely Villa will be making many more moves.
It’s quite the coup for the club from the Spanish capital, as during three years and 119 competitive matches for Barca the Spain international scored 48 goals.
In fact during a career that has stretched over 13 years and four different Spanish sides, Villa has netted 252 goals in 472 matches – which includes being Spain’s all-time top-scorer with 58 goals in 92 caps.
This prolific record makes the signing by Atletico something of a steal and having received £50m from AS Monaco for Radamel Falcao, it has not been a bad period of business from the side that finished third in La Liga.
It’s also a huge deficit for Barca, who signed Villa for £35.2m from Valencia just three seasons ago and are now losing out on over £30m.
The first game Atleti’s latest signing could line-up in for his new club could be against the Catalans, as they will face the Madrid side in the Spanish Supercup as winners of La Liga and the Copa Del Rey respectively.
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