Official: Augusto Fernández leaves Atlético Madrid for Beijing Renhe

Augusto Fernández is no longer an Atlético Madrid player, as he’s left Spain’s capital for Beijing Renhe in the Chinese Super League. The Argentine played 34 games for los rojiblancos in that time with 21 coming in LaLiga, seven in the Champions League and six in the Copa del Rey. He joins the Chinese club for a reported fee (per AS) of €4.5m.

El Confidencial reported a number of weeks ago that the doors were open for the player to go provided the economics of the situation suited Atlético. He joins Javier Mascherano in China as the pair try to ensure themselves of a spot in Jorge Sampaoli’s World Cup squad in Russia this summer. Augusto has played 16 times for his country and has been called up when fit, even though he didn’t receive regular minutes under Simeone.

Injuries hurt the player in his spell with Atleti, as a cruciate knee ligament tear in September 2016 resulted in him missing a large spell of his two years at the club. He eventually returned to the fold this season but Simeone was never fully convinced he had a role for him — and with Saúl’s emergence and Gabi’s continued consistency at the base of midfield, it was always going to be an uphill task to find regular minutes.