Atletico Madrid talent set to cross rivalry divide in free transfer

Atletico Madrid academy product Aimar Garcia is closing in on a free transfer to Real Madrid with his current contract expiring in June, according to Fabrizio Romano.

The 6-foot-3, 18-year-old central defender will look to halt the pattern of Atleti youngsters moving and failing to make the grade with Los Blancos.

No academy players who moved from the Metropolitano to the Bernabeu have reached the first team in the past decade. The only player to make the first team after moving between the academies within the last 10 years is Pablo Barrios, who left Los Blancos to wear the red and white of Los Colchoneros when he was just 14.

Barrios has since become a fixture in the Atleti team, appearing in at least 35 matches each season since 2023/24.

The expectations are different on the other side of the city thanks to Real Madrid’s financial might, but Garcia’s fellow centre-back Raul Asencio proved it is possible to break into the first team from the academy, which he did as a 22-year-old last season, when he made 42 appearances across all competitions.

Garcia takes a path walked by big names

Garcia joins a long list of players to move from one Madrid club to the other, especially considering the intensity of the rivalry and the fact that the clubs went 20 years without anyone moving between them from 1965 to 1985.

A handful of successful players have moved between the Madrid clubs, from legends Hugo Sanchez and Raul — who both moved from Atleti to Los Blancos — to first-team regulars in Santiago Solari, Saul Niguez, Theo Hernandez, Marcos Llorente, and the aforementioned Barrios.

Those are some big footsteps for an 18-year-old to follow, but Real Madrid has shown a greater focus on developing young talent in recent years.

Asencio and Gonzalo Garcia went straight from the academy into the first team, and Francisco Garcia spent three seasons at Rayo Vallecano before returning to the Bernabeu. Meanwhile, Real Madrid youth products Nico Paz and Takefusa Kubo have become key players for Como and Real Sociedad, respectively.

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