Barcelona are set to pay the major portion of Clement Lenglet’s salaries during his loan spell at Atletico Madrid. The LaLiga side initially had Feyenoord central defender David Hancko on their radar but decided to go for another alternative. They signed Lenglet on loan for one season and the difference is worth €12 million to Atletico Madrid. The Frenchman’s net annual salary is around €16 million but MARCA has reported that Barcelona will pay nearly 75 percent of the Lenglet’s salaries. This means that the Frenchman’s contract which runs till the summer of 2026 will not cost Atletico Madrid more than €4 million, excluding his transfer fees.
Atletico Madrid had been hunting for a left-footed center-back since the beginning of the summer transfer window. The Spanish club’s authorities deemed Feyenoord’s David Hancko as an ideal fit at the Metropolitano leading to intense negotiations between the two parties. Feyenoord were unwilling to go below their asking price of €35 million, making it impossible for Atletico Madrid to sign the 26-year-old. This led to the Spanish side changing their direction by opening fresh negotiations for Barcelona defender Lenglet.
Clement Lenglet was reportedly not in the plans of Barcelona’s new manager Hansi Flick. It was soon decided that the Frenchman would sign a one-year contract extension with Barcelona and then immediately leave on a loan deal. The news of his move was later shared by transfer market specialist Fabrizio Romano on X (formerly Twitter). Confirming the deal in his trademark style, Romano wrote, “Clement Lenglet to Atletico Madrid, here we go!”
Within hours of Fabrizio Romano’s post on the Clement Lenglet transfer, the Italian shared another update claiming the defender had ‘accepted’ the proposal. Sharing a post on X, he wrote, “Clement Lenglet has already accepted Barça proposal to extend his contract until June 2027 and he’s in Madrid today for medical tests. Atlético Madrid closed the deal on loan, no buy option; as revealed yesterday.”
Lenglet had signed for Barcelona in the summer of 2018. He arrived at the club from Sevilla for a transfer fee of €35 million. The Frenchman won the Supercopa de Espana and La Liga in his debut season. He left for the Premier League playing for sides like Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa across two seasons.