OFFICIAL: Witsel joins Atletico

The first summer signing has arrived for Atletico. The club have acquired Axel Witsel. Despite Marseille being very close to reaching a deal with the player, the Spanish side swooped in and took him away from Jorge Sampaoli.

'RFTB' broke the news weeks ago. Witsel had reached an agreement to come to the Wanda Metropolitano, news which has been confirmed today by an official statement.

Witsel signs with Atleti until 2023, for one season. The club have the option to extrend his contract for another season.

This Monday, he passed his medical. A day later, Witsel signed the contract and became an Atletico Madrid player. 

The 33 year-old midfielder joins on a free transfer after leaving Dortmund. He spent five seasons there. Last campaign, he made 41 appearances, starting 31 of those, and was a key player for Marco Rose. He scored twice.

Borussia Dortmund decided against renewing his contract. Now, he starts a new journey under Simeone and is confident that he will show his worth in the competitive Spanish league. 

In addition to his last five seasons at Signal Iduna Park, Witsel has also had spells at Belgian club Standard Liege, Portuguese club Benfica, Russian club Zenit and Chinese club Tianjin Tianhai. He certainly does not lack experience. He is also a Belgian national team player.

Witsel joins Atletico's midfield. Right now, the team has Marcos Llorente, Rodrigo de Paul, Koke, Daniel Wass, Kondogbia, and Thomas Lemar in the squad. Saúl, who returns from his loan spell at Chelsea, must also be added to this list of midfielders.

The idea is for Witsel and Kondogbia to battle for the starting spot. To begin with, Kondogbia will start. The Belgian will be good for Simeone in terms of squad rotation, and also to let Kondogbia know that, if he underperforms, he has someone who could take his place.