Arsenal’s next sporting director: Assessing Andrea Berta’s 9 biggest sales at Atletico Madrid
Arsenal are closing in on the appointment of former Atletico Madrid sporting director Andrea Berta – and his record of selling players is an impressive one.
“The negotiations are at advanced stages as Berta is giving priority to Arsenal as next destination,” is what Fabrizio Romano recently revealed on X.
We’ve taken a closer look at Berta’s time at Atletico and have assessed the nine biggest sales that the club made while he was the sporting director from 2017 to 2025.
Note: Transfer fees have been taken from Transfermarkt.
9. Jonny Otto
Despite never making a single appearance for Atletico, the club still managed to Otto him for a profit when selling him to Wolves in 2019.
The full-back originally joined the Premier League side on loan in 2017-18 before the move was then made permanent in the following season for a fee of around £17million.
After his first few seasons at Molineux, the 31-year-old fell out of favour and in January last year he had his contract cancelled by mutual consent. These days, you’ll find him playing for PAOK in Greece.
8. Gelson Martins
The Portuguese winger was never fully utilised by Diego Simeone and he only lasted a few months at the club before they decided to move him on.
Following a successful loan spell with Monaco, the deal was made permanent in the summer of 2019 and Atletico received a fee of around £25million.
Given that he’d barely featured for Atletico, the club did well to flip him for a quick profit. Following several years with Monaco, the 29-year-old now plays for Olympiacos.
7. Yannick Carrasco
Back in 2018, the Chinese Super League was splashing money left, right and center.
Dalian Yifang was the club that swooped in for Carrasco, spending around £25million to lure the winger to Asia.
The Belgian international spent two years in China before then returning to Atletico in 2020. Carrasco enjoyed three and a half more years in Spain before he left to join Saudi side Al-Shabab in 2023.
6. Matheus Cunha
Atletico spent around £25million to sign the Brazilian forward, but he struggled to pull up many trees while in Spain.
However, they still managed to flip him for a sizeable profit, selling him to Wolves for around £41million in 2023.
At the time, that seemed like an overspend from Wolves. However, it’s now safe to say that the 25-year-old’s market value has skyrocketed this season.
He’s been their standout player during 2024-25 and with 19 goal contributions to his name, it’s no wonder that plenty of top sides have been sniffing around him of late.
5. Thomas Partey
Partey racked up 188 appearances for Atletico and won three trophies during his stint with the Spanish giants.
In 2020, they cashed in on the Ghanaian international for a fee of around £41million when Arsenal came calling.
The 31-year-old still plays in North London today, although his long-term future currently hangs in the balance as his contract is set to expire at the end of the campaign.
4. Joao Felix
Atletico Madrid don’t tend to make many missteps in the transfer market, but Felix can definitely be put into that category.
The Portuguese forward is still the club’s record transfer as he cost them a whopping £113million back in 2019.
While he did show some flashes of quality in Spain, he never lived up to that price tag. Following a couple of loan spells, the club eventually sold him last year.
Chelsea splashed around £43million to bring him to Stamford Bridge, although he’s since been loaned out to AC Milan.
3. Rodri
Berta signed Rodri for just £16.5million in 2018 and the Spaniard was sold a few years later for £58million.
Since joining Manchester City, the 28-year-old has developed into one of the best midfielders in the world and he has the accolades to back that up.
The current holder of the Ballon d’Or, it’s fair to say that Pep Guardiola’s side haven’t been the same without him this season.
READ: 2025 Ballon d’Or power rankings: Kylian Mbappe climbs after Man City heroics…
2. Lucas Hernandez
Hernandez joined the Atletico academy at the age of 11 and went on to make 110 appearances for the club, winning the Europa League and UEFA Super Cup along the way.
Bayern Munich came calling for his services in 2019 and splashed around £66million to bring him to the Allianz Arena.
Given that Bayern then sold him a few years later for a lower fee to PSG, it’s safe to say that Atletico got themselves a good deal.
1. Antoine Griezmann
Atletico and Berta played an absolute blinder with this one.
The club sold Griezmann to Barcelona for around £100million in 2019 and then re-signed him a few years later for just £18million.
For whatever reason, the Frenchman never quite hit the heights that were expected of him in a Barcelona shirt, as he struggled to adapt to life at Camp Nou.
However, Barcelona’s loss has been Atletico’s gain as the 33-year-old has looked back to his usual self since rejoining Simeone’s side.
READ NEXT: Where are they now? The 6 Arsenal players Kevin Campbell told Arteta to keep in 2019
TRY A QUIZ: Can you name every player signed by Arsene Wenger at Arsenal?