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Report: Pep Guardiola wants Atletico Madrid’s Gimenez on long-term

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We previously revealed that Pep Guardiola wants Gimenez for Manchester City, but we have fresh information and details about the deal. 

As we all know, Pep Guardiola’s Man City has been after defenders such asl Jose Maria Gimenez for quite some time. The Catalan manager has never been able to secure a dominant defensive force as impressive as the Uruguay international in the past.

Josema is arguably the most important player that ‘Cholo’ Simeone currently has at the club. He’s been groomed to become one of Atletico’s biggest stars since he was a teenager in the Uruguay academy. A player who hasn’t gone under Pep Guardiola’s radar either, he has an eye to spot talents this big.

When he started his career with the ‘Colchoneros’, Gimenez needed to mature as a defender and that was the ideal place for him to do it. But Josema is already a mature 25-year-old who is considered amongst the best in the world. It appears the time has come for him to possibly leave the nest. Manchester City will go after him with everything they got because they know of his potential to become the best defender in the world. 

City won’t hesitate for Gimenez. 

A per Pep Guardiola’s request, Marca reports that Manchester City won’t hesitate to spend big money on Josema. His current release clause goes all the way up to €120 million but the Citizens won’t get that high. However, they are willing to offer a steady number of around €70 million and another €40 million in add-ons.

It’s very unlikely they will go over the €100 million barrier for a defender, but the negotiations just started. It will be interesting to watch how the whole situation unfolds. One thing is for sure though, this effort from Guardiola confirms how valuable Gimenez is to world football.

We are about to watch a truly great defender play his best defensive football over the next decade. Even if he leaves Atletico Madrid, Diego Simeone has to feel proud of the impressive talent that he grew for so many years.

But there is one problem though, Josema doesn’t seem like he wants to leave. Atletico Madrid has been his home for many years and he loves it there. Guardiola will have a hard time trying to convince him to play for City.

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