Atlético Madrid were trying to get out of the deal with Chelsea for Conor Gallagher, as they wanted to sign Javi Guerra from Valencia instead.
That’s according to Valencia director Miguel Ángel Corona, who had insisted Atlético have informed them as such in comments relayed by AS.
The Spanish side appeared to be closing in on a deal for Gallagher after pushing for him last week, with the Chelsea man finally accepting the move on Sunday and pushing the negotiations into the final stages.
Gallagher is the man Chelsea have identified as the one they want to sell this summer as they look to balance the books and bring in a big profit on a homegrown talent to ensure they can comply with PSR moving forwards.
The midfielder was initially reluctant to make the move but finally accepted it, leading to a confidence that it would be done this week as Atlético spend their cash on him and Julián Álvarez.
It seems there may have been a change in that plan, though, with Corona insisting Atlético have told them they are trying to get out of the deal with Chelsea so they can sign Javi Guerra from Valencia instead.
“What happened with Atlético is that there was a maximum agreement on Sunday between the president and the largest shareholder of Atlético de Madrid,” he said when asked about the situation around Guerra.
“On Monday the documentation is developed with a closed agreement. On Wednesday morning we asked the owner of Atlético de Madrid, and they answered that they want to get out of the Gallagher operation.
“We decided to leave there because we did not have the information that the operation was binding. Javi Guerra and we withdrew from the negotiation.
“On Monday they told us “don’t worry, we are leaving the Gallagher operation, our only objective is Javi Guerra.” On Wednesday the largest shareholder apologises to us.”
Conor Gallagher is now in Madrid, so it would appear any efforts to back away from the deal haven’t been successful.
