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Memphis Depay will likely sign with Atlético Madrid right away and leave FC Barcelona. According to AFP, Barcelona and the Dutch international have struck a preliminary understanding about the deal. The Catalan club was mentioned by a source at the French press agency.
“This morning we agreed. At most, some details still need to be finalized,” the source said. Barcelona will reportedly receive around 3 million euros for the attacker, who will sign a contract at Atlético Madrid until mid-2025.
Depay did not participate in Barcelona’s Wednesday training session and was not chosen to play against Ceuta on Thursday night in the Cup. The insider informed AFP that he had been given permission to skip training. Depay’s decision to join another team was something that FC Barcelona boss Xavi had previously said he would accept earlier in the day. “It is up to him whether he wants to leave. He has not participated much and it is not an easy situation for him. So I understand if he wants to leave.”
Depay has previously represented Lyon and Manchester United professionally. He played for PSV in the Netherlands. Despite Depay missing a significant amount of time from playing for his club due to injury, Dutch men’s national team coach Louis van Gaal sent him to the World Cup in Qatar at the end of the previous year. He spent extended stretches on the field as the competition went on.
Frenkie de Jong is also not included in the lineup for the game against Ceuta along with Depay. Xavi made the choice to give De Jong some rest.