Atletico Madrid fans were sent into a frenzy after Conor Gallagher tested out his Spanish during his presentation at the Metropolitano Stadium. The LaLiga club unveiled the new summer signings of both the men’s and women’s teams in front of the supporters on August 22.
The crowd went wild after seeing the flamboyant entry of Gallagher. The England international was escorted onto the pitch by a couple of bikers riding Harley-Davidson. The roar increased when Gallagher picked up the mic to address the fans of his new club. Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sorloth who were presented before Gallagher also delivered their speeches in fluent Spanish.
Upon taking centre stage, Gallagher honestly admitted that he had little knowledge of the language. He, however, made some efforts and said in Spanish, “Hola, no hablo mucho espanol. Estoy muy feliz. Aupa Atleti” which roughly translates into, “Hello, I don’t speak much Spanish. I am very happy. Support Atletic.”
Conor Gallagher speaking in Spanish: “Hola, no hablo mucho español. Estoy muy feliz. AUPA ATLETI!”Translation: “Hello, I don’t speak much Spanish. I am very happy. AUPA ATLETI!”
The crowd went wild! ❤️pic.twitter.com/AqvqLArSP9
— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) August 21, 2024
Following the unveiling ceremony, Conor Gallagher shared a post on Instagram, expressing his gratitude to the Atletico Madrid faithful. The young midfielder shared a few pictures of him in the Red and White jersey and wrote in the caption, “Thank you for making me feel at home” with the hashtag– “Aupa Atleti.”
Atletico Madrid had to face some turbulence to complete the signing of Gallagher from Chelsea. The 24-year-old came to the Spanish capital last week to finalise the move. He, however, had to go back after Chelsea failed to sign Atletico striker Samu Omorodion.
The LaLiga outfit needed to release a player to secure the signature of Conor Gallagher. They finally made it happen with the sale of Joao Felix, who has joined Chelsea in a deal worth £46.3 million.
Atletico Madrid have roped in Gallagher for a fee of around £34 million. He is the second English player to be signed by Los Rojiblancos after his national teammate teammate Kieran Trippier.
A product of the Chelsea youth academy, Gallagher is likely to make his debut for the new club when Atletico Madrid take on Girona in a LaLiga fixture at home on August 26. Diego Simeone’s side has opened the campaign with a 2-2 draw with Villarreal.