The absurd reason why Atletico rejected a World Cup winner and Messi's teammate

The transfer window has been open for 19 days in the most important leagues in the world. Clubs are getting ready to face the second half of the season, in which titles, qualification to international tournaments and relegations will be defined, and that is why they are looking for players who can help to improve their teams' performance.

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The Saudi Arabian Pro League continues to be an attractive destination for many players from Europe, considering the impressive salaries on offer. That is why, for example, Al-Hilal could sign Renan Lodi, left-back of Olympique Marseille. And the same path could be followed by Angel Correa. The Atletico Madrid forward has been rumored as one of the stars who are close to joining the Pro League, although there are no details about which club is interested in him.

With this scenario, Los Colchoneros will need a suitable replacement. Although Correa is not a priority for coach Diego Simeone, he usually plays in the team, sometimes in the starting lineup and other times coming from the bench. The main target was another Argentine forward, Thiago Almada, who like Angel was part of the squad that won the World Cup with Lionel Messi in Qatar 2022.

Negotiations seemed to be at an advanced stage for the Atlanta United player to come to La Liga, but unexpectedly a setback arose. According to Bolavip, Diego Simeone's intention was that Almada would immediately join the squad to face Atletico Madrid's upcoming matches, but the player is not willing to do so.

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What is the reason?

Right now Thiago Almada is not doing the preseason with Atlanta United, but in South America with the Argentina U-23 National Team. This weekend they will start participating in the pre-Olympic tournament in Venezuela, which awards two spots for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. Almada is the team's main star and will wear the legendary jersey with the number 10 of Messi and Maradona.