Two years have passed since one of the fundamental signings in the history of the last Atlético champion. That of Marcos Llorente. Canterano of Real Madrid, was one of the names of that summer, as it is of this one. Atlético achieved his incorporation for 40 million. Today he is the footballer of LaLiga that has increased its value the most this season. It's worth twice as much. 80 million according to the specialized page 'transfermarkt'. The rojiblanco club made its incorporation official on June 20, 2019. Five seasons, 40 million. For Simeone he was the ideal substitute for Rodri who, after just one season in the first team decided to go with Guardiola to City, but it turned out much more than that. And to snatch from the enemy of always one of his most promising pearls. It was a 'Llorentazo', in full rule. And that the story did not begin as all parties imagined.
Because at the beginning, Llorente at Atlético was the meat of memes. The signing of the summer of 2019, the signing of the great rival of always did not play, but he did not play anything. In December that lack of minutes was already news: there were fewer, even, than in his last season at Real Madrid, almost inconsequential. It took 310 minutes, 106 less than it had been a year before, on the other team. That winter market, however, paralyzed its representatives. He did not want to hear offers, he wanted to succeed at Atleti. But when he played, in the pivot position, the most common was that he was in the shower at rest, like that time in Mendizorroza, against Alavés, on his return to the club in whose assignment he hung all the praise on his boots. Nothing, that either. The signing of the summer of 2019, the signing of the great rival of always was on the way to the fiasco. A 'Llorentazo' yes, but on the part of Madrid, as a bargaining chip for the sale of Theo Hernández, failure in Madrid.
The day that history changed
And, suddenly, Anfield arrived, the story, the day that everything changed, for Atlético and for Marcos. Because he came out, scored two goals, came back, classified Atlético for the quarterfinals of that Champions League against the 'coco', Klopp's team, and sewed the stripes on the shield with the blows of his hands on his chest celebrating. It was already impossible to sit him down. Game by game, Llorente was the news. His strides, his runs, his unmatched physique, his goals. It was all that in last season's post-break games and it was even more so in this one. The key to the 'Llorentazo' was simple: a few steps forward, bring him closer to the area, voilà, unleash the fury. The best numbers of his career (12 goals, 11 assists) are already the history of a League, this, the last, the eleventh of Atleti.