Javi Galán joins Osasuna for €500,000
Atlético de Madrid confirmed on Wednesday that out-of-favor left-back Javi Galán has departed for Osasuna, bringing an end to the Extremaduran's two-and-a-half-year stint in the Spanish capital.
Osasuna have agreed to pay a €500,000 transfer fee and — if the Navarrese club stays in LaLiga — an additional €500k for each season it remains in the top flight with Galán in the squad, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
Galán has signed a short-term contract to the end of the season with Osasuna, which entered the holiday break sitting 12th in LaLiga but only three points clear of Girona in 18th place. The 31-year-old will be introduced at Osasuna’s Tajonar training facilities on Monday.
Selling Galán has been a priority for most of the year at Atlético. Despite appearing 37 times and making 31 starts in all competitions a season ago, Galán benefitted from a lack of genuine competition in his position; the best teams that Atleti played last season exposed him as a below-average defender. He was criticized heavily for his display against Real Madrid in the first leg of last season’s Champions League knockout tie, and for his performances in the FIFA Club World Cup amid the Rojiblancos’ group stage exit.
The dual signings of Dávid Hancko and Matteo Ruggeri last summer realistically ended Galán’s hopes that he would keep his place in the team as his contract entered its final year. Following the collapse of his proposed move to Nottingham Forest in August, Galán appeared in just seven games for a total of 314 minutes. In the last of his 56 appearances for Atleti, Galán delivered a pinpoint cross and assist to Antoine Griezmann, the winning goal of the 3-2 victory over Atlético Baleares in the Copa del Rey.
Galán first joined Atlético in a €4 million transfer from Celta Vigo in 2023, in a swap deal that saw Manu Sánchez head the other way. Galán had been one of LaLiga’s top left-backs for a couple seasons, but the move to Atleti proved too big a step for him; he made five appearances in the first half of the 2023/24 season before he was loaned to Real Sociedad for the remainder of the year. His shocking return to prominence last season came after a wonderful assist to Ángel Correa in a derby against Real Madrid — and after Simeone decided to return for a 4-4-2 formation.
Similar news
