Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Espanyol defender Mario Hermoso on a deal worth an initial €25m, it has been confirmed.
The transfer will include a further €4m in add-ons and the Catalan club will retain 20% of any future sale of the defender, with his previous €40m release clause negotiated upon.
It has been confirmed that Hermoso has penned a five-year contract at Atleti, with the deal coming within 24 hours of the club also confirming the arrival of right-back Kieran Trippier from Tottenham.
The centre-half follows Felipe Monteiro to Atleti, another central defender who joined from FC Porto in a €20m deal while left-back Renan Lodi has also arrived from Brazil.
It had initially been claimed that Espanyol were reluctant to sell for below the player’s release clause but the central defender’s insistence on wanting a move looks to have forced them into an agreement.
Hermoso only joined the Catalan club in 2017 from Real Madrid in a €400k deal while he had a contract until 2020 with a €40m release clause in place.
Madrid possessed a €15m buyback clause while they also still owned 50% of his rights, meaning they could have sign him for half that price, but have instead netted half of the transfer fee to Atleti.
Hermoso has won two caps for the Spain national team within the last year while he impressed for Espanyol across 35 first-team appearances this campaign.
Hermoso previously spent a season on loan at Real Valladolid in La Liga 123.
