Atlético de Madrid announced this Wednesday the signing, finally only until the conclusion of this season, of the Brazilian central defender Gabriel Paulista, 33 years old, after passing the relevant medical examination and signing his contract with the red and white club, which he arrives after the termination of his relationship with Valencia.
“Experienced center back has a great career in LaLiga, Premier League and European competitions,” Atlético highlighted in a statement on its official website.
It is the sixth move, predictably the last, of Diego Simeone’s team in this winter market. Two other players have arrived (goalkeeper Horatiu Moldovan and centre-half Arthur Vermeeren, from Rapid Bucharest and Antwerp, respectively) and three have left: Ivo Grbic, transferred to Sheffield United, and Javi Galán and Caglar Soyuncu, on loan to the Real Sociedad and Fenerbahce, respectively.
The departure of the Turkish center back, plus the injuries of César Azpilicueta, who has around a month and a half left out due to the torn meniscus suffered two weeks ago, and then José María Giménez, with a muscle ailment that will keep him out between one and two weeks, prompted Atlético to turn to the market to hire another defender for the rest of the campaign.
The objective, already achieved, was Gabriel Paulista, who has in turn terminated his contract with Valencia, as announced this morning by the entity with which he has played 220 official matches of the 245 that he has been called up, 211 of them as a starter. , during the last six and a half campaigns. He was one of the team captains.
“Since his arrival in August 2017, the Spanish-Brazilian defender has had exemplary commitment and dedication throughout this journey in which he has managed to become champion of the 2019 Copa del Rey and play in the final of the Copa del Rey in 2022,” highlighted Valencia, who wished him “the best of luck in his new stage.”
Gabriel Paulista’s contract with Valencia had a clause by which it would have been automatically extended for one more season, until June 2025, with a significant increase in the sum if he reached a certain number of games, so, given that situation and Due to the club’s desire not to assume such a financial amount, Valencia encouraged the player to look for a way out. That contract was signed in January 2021.
“The Spanish-Brazilian central defender has a long career and maximum experience, since in addition to LaLiga, Gabriel has played in the Premier League, Champions League and Europa League,” Atlético highlighted about the footballer, who, before Valencia , played two and a half years at Arsenal, from 2014-15 to 2016-17, with 64 matches, and another year and a half at Villarreal, with 50 official matches between 2013-14 and the first half of 2014-15.
The footballer, who arrived in Madrid on Tuesday afternoon, will now be at Diego Simeone’s disposal for next Sunday’s derby against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabéu stadium, in which he will compete for the title with the other four centre-backs available in the squad. current: Axel Witsel, Mario Hermoso, Stefan Savic and Reinildo Mandava.
