Atletico to sign Mexican striker Raul Jimenez

Image
IANS Madrid
Last Updated : Aug 12 2014 | 8:15 PM IST

Spanish Primera Liga Champions Atletico Madrid are likely to sign Mexican international striker Raul Jimenez.

Although the club was yet to issue a communique confirming the signing, Spanish sports paper, Marca, reported the deal has been closed to take the 23-year-old from Club America de Mexico, his first club, to the Vicente Calderon Stadium for a fee of 10.5 million euros ($14 million), reports Xinhua.

The striker, who won an Olympic gold medal with Mexico in the 2012 London Olympic Games and was part of the Mexican squad for the World Cup finals, has agreed a six-year contract and will strengthen Atletico' s attack after the summer departures of Diego Costa and Adrian Lopez.

When asked about Jimenez' s arrival earlier in the day, Atletico Madrid President, Enrique Cerezo made no secret of his club' s intention to sign the forward, who averages just over a goal every three games at club level.

"Professional players know what they do and when they join our club, they don't want to leave. He's going to fall in love with Atletico," said Cerezo.

The Mexican has several times shown his support for Atletico' s bitter local rivals, Real Madrid, on social networking sites and in one 'tweet' from last season, celebrated a Real Madrid goal against the club that has now just signed him.

Obviously this has not gone down well with Atletico fans and Jimenez may find himself with some serious PR work ahead of him.

"Mexico has always had magnificent footballers," added Cerezo, whose club have already spent big on players such as Antoine Griezmann, Mario Mandzukic, Guilherme Siqueira and Angel Correa this summer.

*Subscribe to Business Standard digital and get complimentary access to The New York Times

Smart Quarterly

₹900

3 Months

₹300/Month

SAVE 25%

Smart Essential

₹2,700

1 Year

₹225/Month

SAVE 46%
*Complimentary New York Times access for the 2nd year will be given after 12 months

Super Saver

₹3,900

2 Years

₹162/Month

Subscribe

Renews automatically, cancel anytime

Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans

Exclusive premium stories online

  • Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors

Complimentary Access to The New York Times

  • News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic

Business Standard Epaper

  • Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share

Curated Newsletters

  • Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox

Market Analysis & Investment Insights

  • In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor

Archives

  • Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997

Ad-free Reading

  • Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements

Seamless Access Across All Devices

  • Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app

More From This Section

First Published: Aug 12 2014 | 7:46 PM IST

Next Story