Genoa star confirms he came close to signing for Atlético Madrid | OneFootball

Genoa star Mateo Retegui has this week confirmed that, prior to his return to his home country last summer, he came close to penning terms with La Liga giants Atlético Madrid.

For those not familiar with his name, Retegui is an Italian striker, currently plying his trade with the aforementioned Genoa.

The 25-year-old has spent the majority of his career to date plying his trade in Argentina, the country in which he was born.

After racking up 30 goals across 48 appearances during a loan stint on the books of Tigre, however, he was last summer added to the wishlists of a whole host of European clubs.

In the end, it was the aforementioned Genoa who won out, striking a deal with Boca Juniors for a fee in the region of €15 million.

As alluded to above, though, had things played out just a little differently, Retegui could easily have ended up plying his trade in Spain this past season.

Speaking during an interview with Relevo this week, the six-time capped Italian international admitted that, at one point last summer, he came ‘very close’ to joining Diego Simeone’s Atlético Madrid:

“My father says that I was close to Atlético? It’s true. I can’t tell you in detail what happened, but the interest and the fact that I was very close is true. We had a meeting with the club.”

Conor Laird | GSFN