Atlético Madrid have confirmed the departure of five senior players.
Lola Gallardo, Sari van Veenendaal, Kenti Robles, Olga García and Caro Arias have all parted ways with the Spanish outfit.
Lyon announced the acquisition of goalkeeper Gallardo earlier this week. Mexican international Robles may be moving to city rivals Real Madrid.
García made 36 appearances for Atlético since joining from Barcelona in 2018. However, she will now be plying her trade at fellow Primera División side EDF Logrono.
Colombian international Arias – who didn’t make a single appearance for Atlético – will also be playing her football away from the Centro Deportivo Wanda.
Van Veenendaal announced she is set to join PSV Eindhoven. Although, the situation has become muddied following the resumption of the UWCL. Since the update, van Veenendaal has removed all reference to her transfer from her social media.
Embed from Getty ImagesManager Dani González faces a predicament with Atlético’s UWCL run. Two senior goalkeepers have announced their departure and the club cannot recruit in time. It’s going to be an uphill battle as they prepare to take on Barcelona in the quarter-finals.
Despite winning the previous three league titles, Atlético were second best to an irrepressible Barcelona side this season.
Losing such key players could be detrimental not only to short-term success, but going into the new campaign. It goes without saying that Gonzalez will now be on the look-out for a world-class goalkeeper to fill the holes left by Gallardo and van Veenendaal.
