Real Madrid ace Marcos Llorente joins rivals Atletico in shock £35m transfer on five-year deal
REAL MADRID midfielder Marcos Llorente is joining rivals Atletico on a five-year deal.
The boyhood Los Blancos fan, 24, is making the shock switch across the Spanish capital - subject to a medical.
Llorente won the European Under-21 Championship with Spain as he joined new team-mate Saul in midfield.
Manchester United and Arsenal had both taken a look at the versatile ace, who can also play in defence, this summer.
Llorente has featured just six times in La Liga this season, for a total of 450 minutes, although he missed part of the campaign with an abductor injury.
The midfielder scored his first goal for Real, who his father, great uncle and maternal grandfather all played for, in the Club World Cup final win.
But he has managed just two appearances since Zinedine Zidane's return to the dugout in March.
And he will now try his luck at Atleti, who are rebuilding after a number of exits this summer.
Manchester City have reportedly agreed to pay a club record £62.5million playmaker Rodri, 22.
Alteti ace Rodri, who has been compared to Barcelona great Sergio Busquets, is the Premier League champions' top target this summer.
And Llorente's arrival could be good news for Pep Guardiola as he looks to find a successor to Fernandinho.