Commissions Fail Atletico Madrid Deals and Force the Club to Change Summer Plans

Atletico Madrid faces a significant challenge in the summer transfer market after several deals, which were priorities in the team's reinforcement plan for the upcoming season, fell through, prompting the club to reconsider its options before the start of the 2026/2027 season.

The Spanish newspaper 'Mundo Deportivo' explained that Mateo Alemany, the director of professional football at Atletico Madrid, had three names at the top of the targeted signings list this summer: Ederson from Atalanta, Bernardo Silva, and Marc Cucurella, but none of them will join the team.

The Ederson deal is one of the most notable that stumbled despite being close to completion. Atletico Madrid had reached an agreement with the Brazilian midfielder during the last winter transfer window, but negotiations with Atalanta stalled at that time due to the Italian club's demand for 57 million euros to release the player.

With the arrival of summer, Atalanta showed readiness to sell Ederson for an amount ranging between 40 and 45 million euros. However, the deal collapsed because the player's agent demanded a commission of six million euros, which Atletico Madrid refused to pay. As a result, the player is close to moving to Manchester United for 40.5 million euros.

As for Bernardo Silva, he was available on a free transfer, but the requirements to complete the deal were extremely high. The newspaper mentioned that Atletico Madrid was prepared to make a significant financial effort to sign him, but Real Madrid agreed to terms that the other Madrid club could not match.

Those terms included a higher salary for the player, in addition to 30 million euros in commissions, distributed as 10 million euros to Bernardo Silva, 10 million to his agent, and another 10 million to his father, which ended Atletico's chances of completing the deal.

Regarding Marc Cucurella, the deal was not related to commissions, but the financial difference was decisive. Atletico Madrid made an offer of 40 million euros to Chelsea, while Real Madrid succeeded in finalizing the deal after making an offer worth 55 million euros, plus another five million euros as variables.

After failing to sign the main targets, Atletico Madrid began working on alternative options to strengthen its ranks. The current plan indicates a choice between Morten Hjulmand and Joao Gomes to strengthen the defensive midfield position, alongside Alejandro Grimaldo to enhance the left flank, and Lee Kang-in to support the playmaking position.

Atletico Madrid still has ample time during the summer transfer period to rearrange its priorities and search for new solutions to compensate for the deals that did not materialize, in its quest to prepare a team capable of competing in the upcoming season.