Villarreal have blasted Atletico Madrid over their conduct in a deal to take former youth product Rodri Hernandez back to the club.
The 21-year-old spent six years at Atleti’s academy before joining the Yellow Submarine in 2013 and has gone on to make 80 appearances for the club.
Villarreal president Fernando Roig has now criticised Los Rojiblancos for their pursuit of the midfielder, who has reportedly agreed a €20m move, with a further €5m in add-ons, back to Madrid.
“Atletico are a club who say one thing then do another,” lamented Roig, in quotes cited by Marca.
“We are not a club who will stand in the way of a player who has a desire to leave, and while we always want to keep our best players as long as possible, that is football.”
Rodri is seen as a natural long-term replacement for Gabi in Atleti’s squad and the successor for Sergio Busquets with Spain.
