The Carousel Never Stops: A Roman Farewell and Madrid’s Next Big Gamble
Pedro Rodríguez is finally calling time on his Lazio stint this Saturday. At 38 years of age, the former Chelsea and Barcelona man is hanging up his sky-blue shirt after a thoroughly solid five-year shift in the Italian capital. With over 200 appearances under his belt, a fair few decisive strikes, and a sort of quiet, grafting leadership that genuinely left a mark on the dressing room, he’ll bow out at the Stadio Olimpico against Pisa. It’s the end of a proper shift for one of Spain’s most decorated modern footballers.
He didn’t manage to nick any silverware during his time in Rome, which is bound to be a bit of a sore spot for a bloke who won the lot, including the 2010 World Cup. Still, he earned utter respect from the Lazio faithful just by digging in and getting on with it. The club is putting on a bit of a do for him this weekend to mark the occasion.
In a rather gut-wrenching video shoved out on the club’s socials, Pedro admitted it was a bitter pill to swallow. He looked gutted, frankly, calling it a deeply sad day and thanking the fans, the backroom staff, and everyone who let him be part of the furniture at such a historic club. He was brutally honest about the lack of trophies, too. He acknowledged he hadn’t brought any cups back to what he considers a wonderful home, but insisted he’d always fought for the badge with courage, humility, and passion.
He spoke fondly of looking up at the stands, taking in the roaring Olimpico crowd and belting out the club anthems. He’s asked the fans to turn up for the Pisa game, though he’s well aware it’s been an absolute dog of a season for the club and totally respects it if some punters decide they’d rather stay away. Signing off with a classic “Forza Lazio,” he cemented his spot as an adopted Roman.
But football doesn’t really hang about to mourn its departures, does it?
Over in Spain, Antoine Griezmann hasn’t even properly packed his bags yet—his final run-out for Atlético Madrid is this Sunday against Villarreal at La Cerámica—but the boardroom is already living aggressively in the future. The sentimentality is gone; the hustle has started. Enter Mateu Alemany. In his very first summer steering the ship as Atleti’s Director of Men’s Football, he’s already plotting a rather audacious coup. The name floating around the Metropolitano right now is Bernardo Silva. And looking at the moving parts, a match might actually be on the cards.
The 31-year-old Portuguese maestro could be exactly the sort of sticking plaster Atleti need to numb the pain of losing Griezmann, arguably the finest player to ever don the red and white stripes. Silva’s pedigree speaks for itself. He’s been pulling the strings at Manchester City since 2017 and is widely regarded as one of the best operators on the planet. He’s a proper Swiss Army knife of a player—off the right wing, operating as a number eight, sitting in the hole, or even as a false nine; his left boot can handle it. The real kicker is that he’s available on a free transfer. That’s absolute music to Alemany’s ears, and crucially, Diego Simeone is massively keen on the idea.
The bloke actually fancies the move, too. Word on the grapevine, splashed across the front page of La Gazzetta dello Sport recently, is that Silva has already binned off Juventus, supposedly declaring he wants Atleti. He fancies living and playing in the Spanish capital. Jorge Mendes, his agent and a man who knows the corridors of the Metropolitano better than most, even floated him to Real Madrid a month ago. So the desire is clearly there.
The only fly in the ointment? His eye-watering wages.
And it’s not just a minor hurdle; it’s an absolute mountain to climb. Silva is currently pocketing around €10 million net a year over in Manchester. That is a serious whack of cash for Atlético these days. They’ve spent the last few years desperately trying to trim a bloated wage bill that skyrocketed back in 2019 when they stuck Griezmann on an absurd €23 million, triggering a domino effect of players knocking on the manager’s door asking for their slice of the pie. Getting rid of Saúl, waving off Antoine, and restructuring deals to defer payments for Koke and Giménez has given them some breathing room. Oblak is the only one left on astronomical money at €12 million net, while a marquee signing like Julián Alvarez is taking home around €7 to €8 million.
