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Atletico Madrid sold 40% of Saúl Ñíguez' rights to Irish company for €1.5m in 2011

The young Spanish midfielder has exceeded his brief this season and is one of the most sought after players in Europe

Mike Hewitt/Getty Images

Atletico Madrid sold 40% of Saúl Ñíguez' economic rights in 2011 for a paltry €1.5m according to the latest document release by Football Leaks. The Spanish midfielder's right were sold to Quality Football Ireland Limited, which is the same company that bought a share of Koke's rights in 2013.

Saúl is having an excellent year at the Vicente Calderon and has been linked with moves to several clubs including Manchester United. Following an injury to Tiago Mendes, Saúl was offered the chance to shine in Diego Simeone's midfield and has taken that chance with both hands.

The 40% of Saúl's economic rights are believed to be in the region of €1.5 million, which is minuscule when you consider the youngster could now go for in excess of €60 million if he were to decide it is time to quit the Calderon.

Atletico's dealings with the Irish based company with an address in Dublin goes back years with the club doing a similar deal for Koke before he announced himself as one of the best footballers in Europe. They sold 30% of his rights for €3 million but, again, Koke would go for €50 million and more if he were ever to decide to leave Atletico Madrid.

The website, which started in 2015, aims to bring transparency to transfers and the way they are carried out. They have recently released documents that revealed Neymar's contract at Barcelona and James Rodriguez' at Real Madrid.