Marcos Llorente has revealed that he had no doubts about leaving Real Madrid for Atletico Madrid this summer.
The midfielder admitted that Diego Simeone was a big factor in his 40 million euro move from Los Blancos.
"I'm very happy and excited, my family and I can't wait to get started," Llorente said at his presentation.
"[Simeone] has spoken to me, he welcomed me and showed his confidence in me.
"It was sure that I wanted to come to an ambitious project and to a place that had confidence in me and gambled to get me, those two things are here."
Like many other players, Llorente was attracted to Atletico Madrid by the prospect of working with Simeone.
"There's not much I can say [about him] that you don't know already," Llorente said.
"He's a coach with a winning mentality and a great ability to get this across to his players.
"I love the idea of working with him. It was his character as much as the club's project that attracted me and I didn't think twice about coming."
Despite the number of departures from Simeone's squad this summer, Llorente is optimistic about the future.
"We aspire to compete and fight for every trophy, it's what we want to do," Llorente continued.
"There's enough ability and quality to be able to achieve it, we can't wait to get started."
Llorente arrives at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano after spending almost his whole professional career at city rivals Real Madrid.
"I wear it naturally, I know [moving from Real to Atletico] doesn't happen often, it was the best thing for me and I'm happy and glad to be here," the midfielder said.
"I'm coming with hard work and commitment to help the team when I need to and fight together for this shirt.
"My family and I believed this [move] was going to be the best thing for me."
Llorente's father is Real Madrid legend Paco Gento, who also played for Atletico during his career, so what advice did he give?
"He's a man of few words and what he says has reason," Llorente said of his father. "He's a great support and what he told me will stay with me."
tewari
0
He didn't thought because the effort to shift home is avoided
Dgoat
1
I love you
Cobykenneth
1
Playing time is always important for players. Not glory from the bench
pompousz
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Llorente has zero obligation to leave. It is the club that wants to move him.
Hgame
1
Llorente was only happy to leave if he stayed in Madrid and RM wanted to offload him so it was between Atletico and Leganes. Otherwise he gets a few minutes in Copa Del Rey and off the bench in La Liga then leaves on a free in two years.
Sangder
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Llorente has a contract and could just sit it out, but the club wants to sell him so they have to make compromises. Players aren't just an asset like a piece of furnitures.
Oklahoma
1
Llorente was probably one of our best players when he was starting until he got injured. He never really played after he recovered. Saved our asses many times.
knackereda
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We are really stacked in Midfield with Ox returning back from injury. So no space in squad most likely. Also not sure Llorente would have wanted be bench option when he could be a starter at Atletico either .
Heidisoder
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Liverpool is pretty stacked in the midfield, and Llorente, while good, is not going to command a starting spot.
unware
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Really rate llorente and think he’d be great for Man U. He’s a physical beast, and seems absolutely perfect for simeone, so I would be surprised if he didn’t go there. I think he played at athleti when he was a kid as well