Ranking Andrea Berta’s 10 most expensive signings ahead of Arsenal move

Arsenal are set to appoint former Atletico Madrid chief Andrea Berta as their new sporting director. The Gunners have been searching for a successor to Edu, who recently left the club he re-joined in 2019.

The Brazilian’s departure came months before a January window that saw Arsenal fail to bring in a striker to bolster their depleted attacking ranks as their Premier League title challenge faltered.

Jason Ayto stepped in on an interim basis, but this did nothing to help the north Londoners continue their decent transfer record under Edu, who had overseen deals for the likes of Martin Odegaard and Declan Rice as technical and sporting director.

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According to reports, his imminent replacement in N5 looks set to be Andrea Berta, who left Spanish giants Atletico Madrid in January after seven and a half years in the same role.

The Italian would arrive with an intriguing back catalogue of transfer deals for Diego Simeone’s side, who last enjoyed major success with their La Liga triumph in the 2020/21 season.

Atleti were not afraid to splash the cash at times during Berta’s tenure. Here are the 10 biggest deals since his promotion to the sporting director position in the summer of 2017 – could this be a taste of things to come for the Gunners?

10

Alexander Sorloth

Transfer fee: £26.9m from Villarreal (2024)

Alexander Sorloth – international teammate of Martin Odegaard for Norway – had finally found his feet at the top of European football in Spain, having starred for Villarreal in the 2023/24 season.

Formerly of Crystal Palace, the Norwegian exploded into life while at Trabzonspor, scoring 24 Super Lig goals – his best league return to date.

Following his €32m (£26.9m) switch to Atletico Madrid last summer, Sorloth has now started each of the last three seasons with a different La Liga club, with spells at Villarreal and Real Sociedad handing him a shot at league and Champions League glory in the Spanish capital.

9

Rodrigo De Paul

Transfer fee: £29.9m from Udinese (2021)

Rodrigo De Paul’s reward for starring in Argentina’s successful Copa America campaign was a transfer to then-La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, with Berta and Simeone sanctioning a near-£30m move.

It has been a successful one for the midfielder, who remains one of Atleti’s key men as they seek silverware this season, with 39 appearances in all competitions to his name ahead of their Champions League decider with Real Madrid.

8

Marcos Llorente

Transfer fee: £31.2m from Real Madrid (2019)

Marcos Llorente made the not-too-often trodden path across the city from Real to Atletico, with Los Colchoneros paying up to €35m (about £31.2m) for his services including add-ons.

Llorente was signed as a replacement for Rodri, who joined Manchester City that same summer. Having filled in multiple positions since his arrival, you’d have to say this was money well spent.

7

Vitolo

Transfer fee: £33m from Sevilla (2017)

One of Berta’s first signings after being promoted from technical to sporting director, Vitolo joined in the summer of 2017, but was unable to be registered until the turn of the year due to a club transfer ban.

Atletico met the player’s reported £33m release clause to sign him, and while they had to wait around six months to get him on the pitch, Vitolo started his time at the club with a Europa League triumph.

His career petered out soon after, but did bow out a league champion before a couple of loan spells prior to his retirement.

6

Conor Gallagher

Transfer fee: £33m from Chelsea (2024)

Conor Gallagher was a surprise summer exit as Chelsea attempted to balance the books as they spent heavily in the off-season once again.

Atletico Madrid were the fortunate beneficiaries on this occasion, though not after some drama as Gallagher was remarkably sent back to Cobham with the deal all but finalised after a planned swap with Samu Aghehowa fell through.

In the end, Atletico were able to offload Joao Felix to Stamford Bridge to finally shake hands on a £33m deal for Gallagher, perhaps hinting that Berta will use any tools at his disposal to get his way at Arsenal.

5

Thomas Lemar

Transfer fee: £52.9m from Monaco (2018)

One of several Monaco players to leave the club soon after their title win a year earlier, Thomas Lemar joined Atletico Madrid in 2018 during the World Cup.

Interestingly, Arsenal were among Lemar’s admirers, but Berta and Atletico Madrid got a deal over the line, spending just under £53m to bring the Frenchman to the Metropolitano.

It could be argued that his transfer hasn’t been an undoubted success, but Berta managing to beat several European sides to a hotly contested signature could be a positive sign of things to come for Gunners fans.

4

Diego Costa

Transfer fee: £57m from Chelsea (2018)

Diego Costa’s return to Atletico Madrid marks one of the more peculiar deals under Berta’s reign.

The Spain striker had left Chelsea after falling out with Antonio Conte, but despite a clear intention from both parties to part ways, the Blues still got a sweet deal out of Atletico Madrid, who paid around £25m more to bring Costa back compared to his sale price in 2014.

Given Chelsea’s decent record when it comes to selling players, we can maybe give Berta the benefit of the doubt – plus Costa contributed to their Europa League win, so perhaps his hefty price tag wasn’t felt so much in Madrid.

3

Alvaro Morata

Transfer fee: £58.3m from Chelsea (2021)

We’re on the fence with this one from a financial standpoint. Yes, Chelsea were made to settle for a loss when they sold Alvaro Morata to Atletico Madrid, but even €65m (£58.3m) seemed high for a player whose Stamford Bridge career never really took off.

However, Berta and Simeone can feel vindicated by their exploits following his arrival, initially on loan, in 2019.

Though he never won silverware there, Morata – never the most prolific of strikers – posted his best goals-per-game record while at Atletico (0.38 per game).

And although they let Morata leave on a two-year loan midway through his spell, they made up a decent chunk in loan fees and in his eventual transfer to Juventus and Milan respectively.

Arsenal have had a history of letting players go on the cheap in recent years, so perhaps Berta is someone who can make the best of a tricky situation.

2

Julian Alvarez

£81.5m from Man City (2024)

Atletico Madrid welcomed one of their record signings in the summer, with Julian Alvarez – fresh from winning another Premier League title with Manchester City – joining for a potential £81.5m including add-ons.

It was a brave move in the transfer market, and his 22 goals in 42 matches at the time of writing suggest it has been a pretty promising one so far, particularly as Alvarez rarely completes the full 90.

1

Joao Felix

£113m from Benfica (2019)

Unfortunately, a big outlay is by no means a guarantee of success, and Atletico Madrid finally took a £68m hit on Joao Felix in the summer when selling him permanently to Chelsea.

Upon Joao Felix’s £113m arrival in 2019, he was one of the most exciting teenagers in the game, having scored 20 goals in all competitions for Benfica at just 19.

However, that campaign is still his best goalscoring season, while he has hopped around Europe looking for a long-term home as his potential remains unrealised.

Whether these deals can offer more optimism than despair for Arsenal and their supporters remains to be seen, but a summer of business under Berta will almost certainly be entertaining.

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