Atletico Madrid can no longer trigger €32m Nico Gonzalez obligation from Juventus | OneFootball

Reports confirm that Nico Gonzalez has suffered a muscular injury that is likely to keep him sidelined for several weeks, which means that he can no longer reach the minimum number of appearances needed for Atletico Madrid to trigger his obligation to buy clause from Juventus.

Confirmed: Atletico Madrid will not trigger Nico Gonzalez obligation

Nico Gonzalez has spent the 2025-26 season on loan in the Spanish capital from Juventus. At the time of the deal, the Bianconeri confirmed that Atletico had paid a loan fee of €1m with potential bonuses of up to another €1m in a deal that also included a conditional obligation to buy clause for a further €32m.

Outlets in Italy have confirmed that the obligation to buy clause would have been triggered in the event that Nico Gonzalez played for at least 45 minutes in 60% of the LaLiga matches following his move from Juventus.

Given that he was still a Juventus player for the first three matches of the 2025-26 season, Nico Gonzalez would have needed to play for 45 minutes or more in 21 league matches in order to hit the 60% mark.

Nico Gonzalez has appeared in 24 LaLiga matches for Atletico this season, but only 16 of those have been for 45 minutes or longer.

MADRID, SPAIN – SEPTEMBER 27: Nico Gonzalez of Atletico de Madrid reacts during the LaLiga EA Sports match between Atletico de Madrid and Real Madrid CF at Riyadh Air Metropolitano on September 27, 2025 in Madrid, Spain. (Photo by Angel Martinez/Getty Images)

Now, according to the latest updates, the Argentine has suffered a muscular injury that is likely to keep him out of action for around three to four weeks. This means that with six LaLiga matches of the 2025-26 season remaining, it is impossible for Nico Gonzalez to reach the 21 appearances of 45 minutes or more needed to trigger the obligation to buy clause in his Atletico Madrid contract.

This leaves Nico Gonzalez and Juventus in an uncertain position heading into the summer transfer window.

Nico Gonzalez wearing the 2025-26 Juventus Away Kit (Juventus.com)

According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Nico Gonzalez is a player that Atletico and head coach Diego Simeone like, but for several weeks, the club have felt that the €32m obligation to buy fee is slightly too high. There is still a chance that the Champions League semi-finalists decide to return to the negotiating table in an attempt to arrange a discounted fee with Juventus.

La Gazzetta dello Sport claim that Juventus will still request a fee in the region of €30m for Nico Gonzalez’s services on a permanent transfer, though.

The Pink Paper also reports that Juventus will need to raise just over €20m in order to avoid making a capital loss on Nico Gonzalez, and therefore they will not sell for anything less than that figure. This leaves plenty of room for negotiations between the relevant parties.

TURIN, ITALY – MAY 18: Nicolas Gonzalez of Juventus celebrates scoring his team’s first goal during the Serie A match between Juventus and Udinese at Allianz Stadium on May 18, 2025 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Chris Ricco/Getty Images)

Selling Nico Gonzalez this summer would certainly be helpful for Juventus and their attempts to raise funds to enable a summer of spending under Luciano Spalletti, but there is also a chance that the Old Lady decide to keep hold of the Argentine for the 2026-27 campaign.

Wednesday’s report hints that Nico Gonzalez himself is more keen on the idea of staying with Atletico Madrid next season, though.