Atletico Madrid Complete £30.3m Deal for Ademola Lookman

Atletico Madrid have completed the signing of Nigeria forward Ademola Lookman from Atalanta in a deal worth £30.3m, marking a major transfer on deadline day.

The 28-year-old has signed a contract with the Spanish club that runs until June 2030, following an agreement between Atletico and Atalanta announced earlier in the week. The move adds a proven goal-scorer to Atletico’s squad as they continue their campaign in Spain’s top flight, where they currently sit third, ten points behind leaders Barcelona.

Lookman’s transfer is notable beyond its financial value. The London-born forward becomes the first English-born player to have featured in the Premier League, Bundesliga, Serie A and La Liga. 

In total, just 21 players have played across those four leagues, while only three — Christian Poulsen, Justin Kluivert and Stevan Jovetic — have appeared in all of Europe’s so-called “big five” leagues, which also includes France’s Ligue 1.

Lookman has been playing in Serie A since 2022 and enjoyed a highly productive spell in Italy. During his time with Atalanta, he scored 55 goals and provided 27 assists after joining from Bundesliga side RB Leipzig. His most memorable contribution came in 2024, when he scored a hat-trick in the Europa League final against Bayer Leverkusen, securing Atalanta’s first-ever European trophy.

His individual achievements followed soon after. In 2024, Lookman was named African Footballer of the Year and was the only African player included on the men’s Ballon d’Or shortlist, finishing in 14th place.

Internationally, Lookman represented England at youth level and was part of the squad that won the Under-20 World Cup in 2017. He later switched allegiance and made his senior debut for Nigeria in 2022.

Lookman began his professional career at Charlton Athletic, making his first-team debut in 2015, before a move to Everton two years later, where he scored on his Premier League debut. After a successful loan spell, he joined Leipzig permanently in 2019 and later spent seasons on loan at Fulham and Leicester City, before making the switch to Italy that has now led him to Madrid.