José María Giménez leaves Atlético on loan to join Deportivo La Coruña

Thirteen years add up to a lot. To 384 official matches, to trophies lifted with Atlético de Madrid, and to becoming one of those players you associate with a club for life. And yet sometimes a career takes a different turn. José María Giménez is leaving Atlético on loan to join Deportivo La Coruña, the club that returned to the first division this year after several seasons in the second tier.

The 31-year-old Uruguayan defender was already unveiled as a new addition for the Galician side. And the reason behind the move is no mystery: playing time. Through Atlético's first three matches of the season, Giménez wasn't even a starter, falling behind Marc Pubill and David Hancko in Diego Simeone's pecking order at the back. For a player who spent more than a decade as an undisputed starter, sitting on the bench for three straight matchdays is a signal that's hard to ignore.

Giménez had arrived at Atlético in 2013 from Danubio, barely 18 years old, and from there became a fixture of Simeone's project. Thirteen consecutive seasons, two league titles, a Europa League, and a UEFA Super Cup later, the Uruguayan now faces a different chapter: playing on loan for the first time in his career, in search of the consistent minutes he could no longer count on in Madrid.

A new challenge at Riazor

For Deportivo, landing Giménez is a bold move. The team led by Antonio Hidalgo needs experience and authority to sustain its return to the top flight, and few players on the market could offer the international pedigree the Uruguayan brings, having been a fixture of the senior national team for years and a participant in multiple World Cup cycles.

The blue and white jersey will be the second Giménez has worn in Spanish soccer and the third of his professional career, after Danubio and Atlético. There's also a bit of history for the Deportivo faithful: he'll be the first Uruguayan to play for the club since Ignacio "Nachito" González, who was there between 2020 and 2021.

It remains to be seen how a center back schooled under Simeone, shaped by Atlético's intensity and tactical discipline, will adapt to a team just settling back into the top division. What does seem clear is that Giménez arrives with a specific motivation: to win back the prominence he had lost and to prove he still has plenty left to give at the highest level.