Goretzka offered to Atlético Madrid but €15m salary demand clouds free transfer

Leon Goretzka becomes a free agent on June 30 as his Bayern Munich contract expires, and his representatives have already moved to find him a new club — placing him on Atlético Madrid’s radar, according to Diario AS. The German international, 31, is being offered to the Spanish side as potential destinations are weighed up across Europe, though Atlético have not yet responded with a formal approach of their own.

The distinction matters. AS’s report confirms that Goretzka’s camp has submitted a proposal to Atlético, not that the club has tabled a contract offer in return. That gap is significant given the central obstacle in this saga: Goretzka’s reported annual salary at Bayern stands at approximately €15 million gross — a figure AS themselves acknowledge sits beyond what Atlético can realistically match.

This is not the first time the two parties have been linked. During the January transfer window, Atlético sporting director Alemany was reported to have tabled a nominal fee of around €2–3 million to bring Goretzka to the Metropolitano mid-season. Bayern resisted, and Goretzka chose to run down his contract and leave on his own terms. That episode confirms genuine mutual interest at some level; it does not confirm the current offer will be acted upon.

Atlético’s midfield recruitment has been running across several fronts this summer, with Aleix García another name understood to be on Alemany’s shortlist. The breadth of targets being assessed reflects the scale of reinforcement Simeone’s staff are seeking in the middle of the park ahead of the 2026–27 season.

On a footballing basis, the case for Goretzka at the Metropolitano is straightforward enough to construct. Standing 1.89 metres tall, he covers significant ground, functions as both a ball-winner and a late runner into the opposition area, and maps reasonably well onto the hybrid midfield roles Simeone has consistently favoured. Across 48 appearances for Bayern this season, he logged 2,349 minutes and contributed five goals and five assists — the numbers of a reliable operator even if he is no longer an automatic starter at one of Europe’s wealthiest clubs.

He turns 32 in February, which is relevant context, though age alone has rarely been a disqualifying factor in Simeone’s system. The salary question, however, is a different matter — and until that is resolved, the gap between being offered and being genuinely pursued remains the defining feature of this story.