Atletico Madrid and the Almería-based entity have reached an agreement pending the player's medical examination and signing of his new contract.
Club Statement
Atlético de Madrid and UD Almería have reached an agreement for the transfer of Marc Pubill to our club, pending his passing the relevant medical examination and signing a new contract.
The 22-year-old, 1.90-meter-tall full-back from Terrassa is the owner of the right flank of the Spanish Under-21 team, with whom he competed in the recent European Championship, playing in all four matches and scoring a goal against Slovakia. Last summer, he was part of the Spanish Olympic team, coached by Atletico legend Santi Denia, which won gold at the Paris Olympic Games, appearing in five of the six matches, including the final against France. In his 360 minutes of participation at the Olympic Games, he scored a goal in the 2-1 victory over Uzbekistan.
Formed in the youth academy of Club Gimnàstic Manresa, Pubill joined Levante UD in the youth category, making his debut on December 20, 2021 in the First Division with the Granota first team, with whom he played 11 matches in the top flight before being transferred to UD Almería in 2023, where he has played these last two seasons, playing 63 matches, scoring 2 goals and providing 8 assists.
Interestingly, with the arrival of Marc Pubill, our first team will feature the starting right back for the Spanish U-21 national team and the starting left back for the Italian U-21 national team, Matteo Ruggeri. Furthermore, it brings together three Olympic champions: Álex Baena, Pablo Barrios, and the aforementioned Marc Pubill.
After interest from AC Milan and Wolves, a deal was in place for Pubill to go to Wolves in England. Pubill had also attracted interest from Atalanta and Barcelona over the past year, with a move to the former collapsing at the last minute last summer.
However in the space of a few hours, Marca explain that Atletico were able to convince both Almeria and Pubill with their proposal. Atletico Madrid have officially confirmed the signing of the 22-year-old Olympic gold medallist, and the above report explains that it will be a €16m deal with €4m in add-ons and a 15% sell-on fee for Almeria.
Pubill was highly rated at Levante before he even made his senior debut. Making a €5m move shortly after, Pubill did earn a starting spot quickly at Almeria, after joining the newly-promoted side in 2023. Despite his obvious promise, Almeria held onto Pubill last season in Segunda, amid frequent links to Barcelona, who was supposedly close to a deal last year with Pubill.
Strong, pacy and capable of getting up and down the pitch, Diego Simeone will have a younger alternative to Marcos Llorente, who aims to get the by-line in attack. A solid defensive prospect thus far, if he is able to begin muscling forwards out more often, he should fit right in.