Juanfran ready to sign Atletico extension

Dom Farrell

Juanfran ready to sign Atletico extension image

Atletico Madrid defender Juanfran insists signing a new contract with the La Liga club is a formality.

The 33-year-old right-back returned from a hamstring injury to complete 90 minutes in Atletico's 2-0 Europa League win at Sporting CP on Thursday.

Juanfran joined Atletico from Osasuna in 2010 and his deal expires in June.

Although Sime Vrsaljko's arrival this season means a first-team place is no longer guaranteed, Juanfran is keen to remain with Diego Simeone's squad.

"I'm going to continue at Atletico," he said after the Sporting win.

"All that is missing is the signature, which is going to be done shortly."

Next up for Atletico is Sunday's derby against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, where victory for Simeone's men would strengthen their grip on second place in LaLiga behind Barcelona.

"Winning a derby is very special game," added Juanfran.

"We are going to put our hearts into it and play to win, to distance ourselves even more from third place and to be expectant of what Barcelona are doing.

"If we lose, we keep second. We're winners. "

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.