Conor Gallagher has officially left Chelsea and signed for Atletico Madrid for £33million.
The midfielder, who had entered the final 12 months of his contract at Stamford Bridge, has joined the La Liga side on a permanent deal to end his 18-year association with the club.
football.london understands the England international turned down three offers from the club to extend his contract. Atleti and Chelsea agreed a deal last week but the Madrid-based club were waiting on Gallagher’s decision. The 24-year-old midfielder told Atleti of his decision on Sunday and flew to Madrid on Monday to complete his medical with Diego Simeone’s side.
His moves mean Joao Felix’s switch to Chelsea is likely to be confirmed in the near future. The Portugal international has agreed to return to Stamford Bridge after spending the second part of the 2022/23 season in the Premier League.
Prior to the confirmation of his move to Spain, a video surfaced on social media of Gallagher taking part in Atletico training today (Wednesday) ahead of Sunday’s league game with Girona.
The video, which was published by Mundo Deportivo, spotted Gallagher joining in with his new teammates and it was one of his former friends at Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta, who helped him on his first day.
The 42 second video shows Azpilicueta, who played 508 times for the Blues, staying by the midfielder’s side to help translate the instructions provided by the coaching staff on the training pitch.
Gallagher will now be in contention to make his debut for Colchoneros this weekend.
