It is often said that what starts badly ends badly. In Vitolo's case, His time at Atlético has been constantly marked by the feeling of never ending exploiting his potential, and, when he was closer, suffer some setback in the form of injury.
The canary will head to Getafe, who has already announced the beginning of the agreement for his loan, and will play his last year of contract at Atlético on loan. Say goodbye as league champion and centennial (reached 101 mattress matches), but with only 456 minutes played in his final year, the twentieth footballer on Simeone's list. Vitolo signed for Atlético in the summer of 2017, a high-profile incorporation of an international footballer, who was going through his best moment at Sevilla and very much liked by Cholo.
However, his signing was involved in controversy. Atlético decided to pay their clause after Pepe Castro, president of Seville, announced an agreement for its renewal. But, beyond the commotion, Atlético continued to face a FIFA sanction that prohibited him from registering footballers for the second consecutive window. Finally the canary left loaned to Las Palmas, his home club and at that time in the First Division, until you can wear the red-and-white jacket. That same summer of 2017 would live another soap opera, with Diego Costa in absentia to leave Chelsea, wearing the Atlético shirt set aside in Brazil and signing his return in September without being able to debut until January.
Two huge signings that have ended up going out the back door, with injuries as great setbacks and that they have not managed to turn around the difficulties in their arrival. In the case of Costa, He has been without a team since he terminated his contract in December, although in his record he has added his second League as a mattress player this year. And with Vitolo's goodbye, Atlético will close the two operations of the summer of 2017 that did not meet the expectations generated and that they did not yield what was expected due to the economic outlay generated.
Vitolo has gone from more to less in his rojiblanco stage. In his first half season he scored three goals, It was appearing in the headlines of Simeone and carved a hole in the side until suffering an injury that separated him from the final of the Europa League when he had many options to be in the eleven. In his first full campaign he began assisting Koke in the European Super Cup, participated in 28 games, 1,089 minutes and scored a single goal in the Cup very meager for his talent. And, after a little more prominence in the 2019-20 academic year, mainly at the beginning of the season with two very valuable goals in the League (he would get the third, giving the victory against Valladolid), Vitolo ended up playing 35 games and adding 1,483 minutes.
His last course was undoubtedly the least relevant in his career, only required with the score against and with casualties concentrating on the attack front. That has led Vitolo to ask the club to leave, look for those minutes elsewhere, and they will arrive a few kilometers from the Wanda Metropolitano, in a Getafe that will take care of a part of the high profile of the canary, one of its great impediments market after market to be able to leave Atlético. At 31, Vitolo says goodbye and Simeone will cover his absence on the attack front with a new piece, where the signing of Marcos Paulo, closed since January but not yet officially announced, has earned points to stay if he can convince the coach during the preseason.