Hjulmand joins Atlético Madrid: official, €40m to Sporting

Morten Hjulmand is officially a new Atlético Madrid player: the former Lecce man arrives from Sporting Lisbon in a deal worth €40 million. After the «here we go» on 9 July, the Colchoneros formalised the signing, described by the Italian press as a deal «for a monster fee».

The breakthrough came on 9 July. Calciomercato.com broke the «MORTEN HJULMAND - ATLÉTICO MADRID HERE WE GO!», announcing that a deal had been reached with Sporting Lisbon «for an operation worth €40 million». From that moment the move to La Liga was considered a mere formality.

The definitive confirmation followed two days later. On 11 July Calciomercato.com reported that «Morten Hjulmand is officially a new Atlético Madrid player», reiterating that he «arrives from Sporting Lisbon for €40 million». In the same hours Tuttosport also headlined «Atletico Madrid, Hjulmand official».

For Atlético it is a heavy investment: Tuttosport describes the «former Lecce» player who «flies to La Liga for a monster fee», underlining the scale of the operation. The «ex Lecce» reference recalls the player's spell in Serie A before his move to Portugal and Sporting Lisbon.

There is also a transfer subplot in the background: according to Sky Sport — which headlines «Hjulmand, no Milan: he is a new Atletico Madrid player» — the player had also been linked with Milan before choosing the Spanish destination. In the end it was Atlético who won the race.

As things stand the deal is complete and official: Atlético Madrid have announced their new signing while, on the other side, Sporting Lisbon bank the agreed €40 million. With the official announcement there are no loose ends left in the negotiation: the deal is closed and Hjulmand is, to all effects, an Atlético Madrid player.

TransferBeat aggregates transfer news citing the original sources. Developing story.