Atlético de Madrid and Deportivo de A Coruña reached an agreement Tuesday over a loan move for veteran defender Josema Giménez.
Giménez’s departure had been a priority for months inside the club, but the 31-year-old center-back had dismissed inquiries from Mexican sides earlier in the summer and remained at Atlético to begin the 2026/27 season.
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However, as the end of the Spanish transfer window loomed, multiple clubs — including Sevilla and Valencia — checked in on Josema, who had played 37 minutes through three rounds to begin LaLiga. Newly-promoted Deportivo in the end won the race to sign Giménez, who reportedly will extend his Atlético contract by one year to 2029 to facilitate the move. It means the roughly €15 million in gross salary still coming to Giménez can be spread out over an additional season, reducing his annual cost by €2.5 million.
It is worth noting though that the official statement from Atlético did not mention a contract extension of any kind. Dépor will be responsible for a portion of Giménez’s salary, though Atlético still will pay the majority of what he is owed this season.
As the transfer was announced Tuesday night, Giménez posted an emotional retrospective of his 13-year career at Atleti, which began upon his arrival at the club from Uruguayan side Danubio when he was just 18 years old.
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“Man, honestly, I’m really happy with what I’m experiencing, it’s a dream,” Giménez said in a voiceover. “So many emotions, so many feelings, right? Of course, they’re all really good ones.
“A whole life. I came here at 18. I learned what Atlético de Madrid is—it’s unity, it’s communion with the fans. There’s tremendous communion between the fans and the players and the club. Those moments are etched in memory.
“I think the Atlético de Madrid fan knows too what I’ve given for this shirt, what this shirt means to me, this club and these colors.”
“For me, for me, they’re everything.”
Giménez won the 2013/14 Liga as a teenager and later claimed a second league title as one of the club’s captains in 2021. El Comandante ranks 13th in club history with 384 appearances, though repeated soft tissue injuries have cost him hundreds more potential appearances. In addition to the two league title wins, Giménez won a Supercopa de España in 2014 and the UEFA Europa League in 2018, alongside that summer’s UEFA Super Cup.
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If Dépor suffer relegation, Giménez surely will come back to Atleti next summer, just as Thomas Lemar did when his loan to Girona ended with the Catalan club’s descent to the second tier. Dépor however have built a fairly strong squad for its return to LaLiga after eight years away, and the Galician side should secure safety as a result. Giménez will lend vital experience and quality to a young back line; his mentorship could prove particularly valuable to 21-year-old Lucas Noubi and 19-year-old Bright Ede, Dépor’s starting center-back pair. The Metropolitano will greet him warmly when he returns in round 10, tentatively scheduled for Oct. 25.
For Atleti, Giménez’s departure will leave Diego Simeone with four first-team central defenders: Dávid Hancko, Marc Pubill, Cuti Romero and Robin Le Normand. Late Tuesday, the club confirmed that 22-year-old Dani Martínez had been promoted to the first team, and he will serve as the fifth center-back. Martínez can also play left-back, where he could challenge Álex Grimaldo for minutes in the season’s first few months.
