Uruguayan Defender Diego Godin Leaves Atletico Mineiro and Heads to Vélez Sarsfield
The experienced Uruguayan defender Diego Godin agreed on Monday to terminate his contract with Atletico Mineiro, where he arrived last January, according to the current Brazilian champion.
"Atletico and @diegogodin have agreed on a friendly termination of the contract," the club announced in a tweet.
"I leave with the satisfaction of always giving my best in every moment, with a lot of professionalism, and respecting all those people that I will never forget," the player said on his Twitter account.
The captain of the Uruguay national team, whose destination would be Vélez Sarsfield, leaves the team from Belo Horizonte with disappointing numbers (nine matches played in six months) and performances.
Although in that short period of time, the center-back, an icon of Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid that won the Spanish league in 2014 and the UEFA Europa League in 2012 and 2018, won the Brazilian Supercup in February, defeating Flamengo, and the Minas Gerais State Championship in April.
The Pharaoh, 36 years old, arrived at Galo after terminating his contract with Cagliari, the last European team he defended after 14 years in the Old Continent.
His signing was made with the idea of replacing Paraguayan Junior Alonso, who was sold to Russian club Krasnodar in January but returned to the team in March due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Aside from Alonso's unexpected return, a key player in the conquests of Brasileirao and the Copa de Brasil in 2021, Godin lost ground due to injuries, the good level of his teammates, and a performance below expectations.
The defender will now likely move to the Argentine league in search of playing time to arrive at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar with competitive rhythm, as stated by a Mineiro executive and the player himself in recent days.
If called up by coach Diego Alonso, the tournament in Qatar (from November 21 to December 18) will be the fourth World Cup that Godin will play with the Uruguayan national team, following those in South Africa 2010, Brazil 2014, and Russia 2018.