José Giménez extends Atlético contract to 2028

Atlético Madrid on Friday announced a new contract for third captain José Giménez, who has put pen to paper on a deal that could see him end his career in red and white.

Giménez had a year-and-a-half left on his old contract, which would have expired in June 2025. The new pact was agreed upon last month and will run until summer 2028, when Giménez — already one of the longest-tenured Colchoneros — will be 33 years old.

If fulfilled, the contract will see Giménez complete 15 seasons in the heart of Atlético’s defense.

Giménez came to Madrid as an 18-year-old in 2013 and has since become one of Diego Simeone’s stalwarts — although frequent injuries have prevented the Uruguayan from playing more than 28 games in any league campaign since he joined.

Nevertheless, Giménez has been capped 81 times for Uruguay — and when he's healthy, the 28-year-old is an immensely-important player for Atlético. Dating to the 2020/21 season, Atlético have a plus-77 goal difference in LaLiga when Giménez plays. Including this year, Los Colchoneros have rung up at least 2.2 points per match each season since when El Comandante is on the pitch.

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Already a strong and speedy defender, Giménez has also improved as a passer in recent seasons — although the frustrating injuries have rendered him unavailable and unable to showcase his abilities for weeks at a time. In fact, Giménez is currently out with swelling in his foot, which ruled him out of Atleti’s frantic 3-2 win over Feyenoord in the Champions League on Wednesday.

Simeone next?

Giménez’s new contract may not be the only one Atlético give out in the coming weeks. Relevo this week reported that the club is hoping to finalize another extension for Simeone over the international break, which begins after Atleti face Real Sociedad in the Cívitas Metropolitano on Sunday afternoon.

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The club is reportedly planning to offer El Cholo a renewal to 2027, valued in total at more than €100 million — an arrangement that would see the legendary head coach take a pay cut on his annual salary, but make the money back all the same. Simeone is already LaLiga’s longest-serving coach, and Los Rojiblancos’ strong bounce-back from the difficult 2022 calendar year has convinced chief shareholder Miguel Ángel Gil to extend Simeone’s tenure on the touchline.

If he signs the renewal to June 2027, Simeone will have completed 15 full seasons as Atlético’s head coach. His next major milestone will be recording his 400th win as Atleti boss, a figure he should reach later this season.