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Atlético de Madrid are angry with Thomas Partey for the way his last-minute transfer to Arsenal was carried out, sources told ESPN.
The 27-year-old Partey joined the Premier League club on Monday night after they paid his € 50 million buyout clause.
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Atlético said that La Liga informed them at 11:28 p.m. (Spanish time), just over half an hour before the transfer window closed, that Arsenal representatives had been at their Madrid headquarters that night to exercise the clause. player release.
Sources told ESPN that Atlético was “resigned” to Arsenal’s actions rather than being upset by them.
The club was aware that there could be some late move in the market, and coach Diego Simeone admitted on Saturday that the club was “worried” about “bad surprises, which can always happen in football”, before the deadline.
ESPN reported in August that Atlético was concerned about having to replace or face one of its biggest stars, such as midfielder Partey or goalkeeper Jan Oblak, if a club paid its release clause this summer.
That led to an air of acceptance in the club’s offices on Monday when the news broke, and the realization that there was nothing they could do about it.
A year earlier, Atlético had lost Antoine Griezmann, Rodri Hernández and Lucas Hernández in similar circumstances.
The difference in the case of Partey is that the exit occurred in the final minutes of the window, although the Spanish rules give them one more month to find a replacement, provided that player comes from La Liga.
Nonetheless, Atlético were not impressed with Partey’s willingness to leave a club he had spent eight years in, being seen as a product of the academy after joining as a teenager in 2012, in this way, which places them in a difficult position.
Partey broke into the first team in 2015 and became a key player in the last three seasons, but he remained one of the lowest paid members of the first team team, despite being among the best.
The club had offered Partey a new, improved contract earlier this year before the coronavirus pandemic, which he declined.
He was later offered a scaled down deal in the new financial environment, with Atlético desperate to increase his buyout clause to a figure that better reflected his market value.
That offer was ignored and Partey was linked to Arsenal throughout the summer.
Atlético maintained that no formal offers had been made, with the Gunners reluctant to pay the full value of their clause and Atlético refusing to negotiate, until the dramatic conclusion Monday night.
Later on Tuesday, Atlético winger Kieran Trippier tipped his former teammate to quickly adjust to the Premier League.
“It’s incredible, his physique, how he breaks the game. Technically he has everything. He is one of the best midfielders I have ever played with,” he said. “He speaks perfect English. I don’t think he has a problem with the Premier League.”
