Atlético willing to listen to offers for Matheus Cunha

Atlético Madrid are willing to listen to offers for Matheus Cunha, according to GOAL.

The Brazilian was left out of Tite’s 26-man Brazil squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, and Atlético are willing to offload the striker as soon as January, per reporter Rubén Uría.

Cunha has a €100 million release clause, but with no goals this season, the club is aware they won’t fetch this much for the Brazilian. They do need to make up for the financial blow that comes with failing to make the Champions League knockout stages — Atlético will lose up to €30 million after finishing bottom of their group which included Porto, Bayer Levekrusen and Club Brugge.

Photo by Diego Souto/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images

Cunha scored six times last season in 29 games, but has failed to hit the back of the net this season while being used mainly as a substitute. Álvaro Morata has assumed the starting role in Diego Simeone’s attack, with Antoine Griezmann his preferred partner. Ángel Correa and João Félix are also fighting for minutes, which has left Cunha on the outside looking in.

There were teams interested in Cunha during the summer, but Atlético didn’t want to let him go. The 23-year-old also insisted he was happy at the club as he tried to convince Tite to take him to Qatar as part of his Brazil squad.

Atlético will listen to offers now, however, as talk of a major squad overhaul in the summer picks up pace. Simeone’s side are currently mired in their worst crisis since the Argentine took the job. They crashed out of the Champions League last week and lost to Cádiz before drawing with Espanyol last weekend.

Los Rojiblancos remain in LaLiga’s top four but the fans are not happy with recent performances. The players have backed embattled Simeone, but being knocked out of the Champions League given the favorable draw they got has not gone down well with hardcore fans of the club, who protested before the Espanyol game at the weekend.