FC Barcelona has closed one of its main summer folders with the departure of Clément Lenglet. The Frenchman returned to Barcelona once his loan at Aston Villa expired and, due to his high profile, the Barça entity was clear from the beginning that it was a priority to find a new destination for him. Although the club's preference was to get rid of the player through a permanent transfer, the difficulties in finding a club willing to sign him (and to which the footballer, who rejected proposals from Saudi Arabia, would like to go) have forced them to give in on their claims. and accept, once again, a loan.
This scenario was taken advantage of by Atlético de Madrid, who managed to reach an agreement with the Catalan institution to acquire the center-back's services for the next season. The colchoneros were looking for a 'low cost' option to reinforce the axis of the defense with a left-footed defender, since the investments made in the signings of Julián Álvarez, Alexander Sorloth, Robin Le Normand and Conor Gallagher prevented them from making a great financial effort, which is why Lenglet appeared as a great market opportunity.
The player 'flirted' with the possibility of continuing under Hansi Flick next season, since the German coach was pleasantly surprised during the preseason with his commitment and good performance. However, the 'overbooking' of central offices, added to the financial problems of an entity in need of salary space, ended up opting for his departure. The Frenchman prioritized staying in the European elite, so the Atleti project was presented as the ideal destination to continue his career.
From the offices of the Cívitas Metropolitano they gave the go-ahead to take 80% of the footballer's salary, whose contract was restructured by the Barça board. Lenglet renewed for two more seasons (his contract expired in 2026), and in this way, his high salary of 16 million gross euros has been deferred. Thus, the footballer's salary will be divided into 8 million per season, a total of 32 'kilos' to be distributed over 4 years, which are the 2 that remain in the agreement plus the extension of the other 2.
His third loan in three years
With his departure to the capital confirmed, Clément will complete three years without wearing the Barça shirt in an official match, since the last time this happened was on May 22, 2022, when he was part of the defeat against Villarreal at the Camp Nou on the last day of LaLiga. Since then, the footballer has passed through the ranks of Tottenham Hotspur in 22/23 and Aston Villa in 23/24, and will now wear the red and white jersey in what will be his third different journey in a LaLiga team, after go through the ranks of Barça and Sevilla.