Atletico Madrid appoint former Barcelona man as new director of football | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid have announced a significant change to their sporting department, with the appointment of a new director of football, a position that had been vacant since the departure of Andrea Berta in January.

It is a familiar in Spanish football that has been selected for the position, with Atleti announcing on Tuesday in an official statement that Matey Alemany is their new director of football for the men’s teams.

“Mateu Alemany joins Atlético de Madrid as the new Director of Men’s Professional Football. The Balearic executive will be part of Carlos Bucero’s team, general director of Football, leading all matters related to the men’s first team and Atlético Madrileño, as well as the professional area of the Academy.

“He has joined his new position this morning, visiting the first team at the Majadahonda Sports Center with Carlos Bucero. Both have held a meeting with Diego Simeone and have also greeted the players who are training in Madrid these days.”

Image via Eric Alonso/Getty Images

Alemany returns to football two years after Barcelona exit

Previously, Alemany had held the position of director of football at Barcelona, whom he left in the summer of 2023 following the arrival of Deco. Interestingly, Atleti have been interested in hiring him for almost two years, and although negotiations were on hold for some time, they have now been concluded.

Alemany, who also held negotiations with Sevilla during last year, is rated incredibly highly within Spanish football, so this move is seen as a major coup for Atleti, who continue to work on closing the gap to Barcelona and Real Madrid both on and off the pitch.

It will be interesting to see how Alemany gets on at Atleti, and more importantly, how he works with Carlos Bucero, who is the director of football for the entire club.