Barcelona will transfer Memphis Depay to Atlético Madrid for €3 million: AFP
Memphis Depay will almost certainly leave FC Barcelona immediately for Atlético Madrid. Barcelona has reached an agreement in principle on the transfer of the Dutch international, AFP reported. The French press agency referred to an anonymous source at the Catalan club.
"This morning we agreed. At most, some details still need to be finalized," the source said. Barcelona will reportedly receive around 3 million euros for the attacker, who will sign a contract at Atlético Madrid until mid-2025.
Depay did not train with Barcelona on Wednesday, and was also not included as part of the selection for Thursday evening's Cup match against Ceuta. The source told AFP he was given permission not to show up for training. Earlier in the day, FC Barcelona manager Xavi had already indicated that he would respect Depay's decision if he wanted to move to another team. "It is up to him whether he wants to leave. He has not participated much and it is not an easy situation for him. So I understand if he wants to leave."
Depay previously played abroad for Manchester United and Lyon. In the Netherlands he played for PSV. Dutch men's national coach Louis van Gaal took him to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of last year, although Depay was unable to play for his club for a long time due to an injury. As the tournament progressed, he was on the field for longer stretches of time.
In addition to Depay, Frenkie de Jong is also missing from the selection for the match against Ceuta. Xavi decided to give De Jong time to rest.
Reporting by ANP