Atletico Madrid wants to steal another star from Villarreal
The mattress team has been drawing from the Castellon team in recent years; now they will try again.
Sergi Cardona, 27-year-old left-back from Villarreal, has become one of the targets for Atlético de Madrid for the upcoming winter transfer market. According to MARCA, Mateu Alemany is considering his signing to strengthen Diego Simeone's defense and to repeat the strategy that previously brought Alexander Sorloth and Álex Baena to the Metropolitano. The player’s contract expires in June 2027.
The rojiblanco sports management believes that Cardona can represent a market opportunity due to his contractual situation. His value is around 9 million euros, although Atlético may try to negotiate a lower amount taking advantage of the fact that his contract with the Castellonese team is close to ending.
Sergi Cardona, another target for Atlético Madrid from Villarreal
The interest in Sergi Cardona confirms that Villarreal continues to be one of the clubs Atlético is closely monitoring to strengthen its squad. The Madrid team had already signed Alexander Sorloth in 2024 for approximately 32 million euros and later brought in Álex Baena.
Now, Mateu Alemany is looking at the Castellonese team again to address a need that was left unfulfilled last summer: to add a second left-back who can compete with Alejandro Grimaldo.
Atlético considered the arrival of Nicolás Tagliafico, but ultimately ruled out the operation due to economic reasons. Finally, Simeone turned to Dani Martínez, a player from the youth team, as an alternative to cover that position.
Cardona fits the search due to his experience in LaLiga. The defender joined Villarreal in 2024 from Las Palmas, where he had played 35 league matches during his last season.
Atlético could sign Sergi Cardona for less than 9 million
The main appeal of the deal lies in the player's contract. Sergi Cardona becomes a free agent on June 30, 2027, so Villarreal will enter the winter market with the possibility of negotiating his transfer or risking losing him without compensation at the end of the season.
His current price is around 9 million euros, although there is still no known formal offer from Atlético nor a fixed amount set by the Castellonese club.
The left-back also brings experience in European competitions. During his first two seasons at Villarreal, he accumulated 66 league matches, with two goals and eleven assists, in addition to participating in the Champions League.
This season, he has played seven LaLiga matches, with one assist, and has also participated in European competition and the Copa del Rey.
Villarreal has not yet received an official proposal
Despite the information about his future, the player himself stated on November 10 that he had no news of the rojiblanco interest and preferred to focus on the upcoming commitments of the team.
His contractual situation also opens up another possibility: if he does not renew, he will be able to negotiate freely with other clubs starting January 1, 2027 to join them once his contract expires.
The next step for Mateu Alemany will be to decide whether to make a proposal to Villarreal during the January market or to wait until summer to try to acquire Sergi Cardona without paying a transfer fee. Atlético has identified the player but still needs to turn that interest into a negotiation between clubs.
This is an automatic translation. You can read the original news, El Atlético de Madrid quiere volver a robar una estrella al Villarreal