La Liga 2021-22: Atletico Madrid confirm signing 20-year-old forward Marcos Paulo

Atletico Madrid has officially announced the signing of 20-year-old forward Marcos Paulo Costa do Nascimento. The Brazilian-born forward joins as a free agent after his contract with Fluminense expired on June 30. He passed his medical at the Clinica Universidad de Navarra and signed a five-year contract.

Last season, Marcos Paulo played 24 games for Fluminense, netting three goals and providing three assists. At 1.86 m tall he will be adding some height to the Atletico attack and can be deployed on the left-wing though he is right-footed, he is considered to be a versatile attacker as he can play as a center-forward and right winger as well. Even though he was born in Brazil he plays for the Portuguese under-19 team which allows him to hold a European Union Passport.

With Atletico Madrid set to get their pre-season preparation underway on July 7, Marcos Paulo will be aiming to make an impression on Diego Simeone and fitness coach Oscar Ortega, especially given the absence of a number of first-team players due to international commitments.

Atletico has lost centre-forward Moussa Dembele, who made five appearances off the bench, scoring once, in a coronavirus and injury-hit spell after joining on loan in January. He has returned to Lyon as no both the clubs could not come to an agreement.

Atletico are eleven-time La Liga Champions

Last season Atletico picked up their 11th La Liga title by beating put Real Madrid and Barcelona. They lifted the trophy on 22 May 2021, the last matchday, with a 1–2 win at the José Zorrilla Stadium against Valladolid to secure the La Liga title for Atlético, seven years after their last triumph.

Goals from Angel Correa and Luis Suarez helped propel the team to victory after going a goal down. Atleti beat the Los Blancos by a two-point margin after what was a very close end to the season. Atletico had a 13 point lead midway through the season but injuries and bad form saw their cross-town rivals eat into their lead. However, towards the end of the season, Diego Simeone's men held on and fought their way through to be crowned La Liga Champions.

The Rojiblancos begin their La Liga title defence with a trip to Vigo, Spain where they take on Celta Vigo on August 15 at Balaidos.

(Image Credits: @atletienglish/Twitter)