Nahuel Molina Joins Roma from Atletico Madrid

Stepping off a plane and finding a crowd waiting with jerseys to sign doesn't happen to just anyone. It happened to Nahuel Molina. The Argentine right back landed in Rome on Monday, posed for photos with fans who showed up at the airport, and put the finishing touch on what had already become an open secret: he's Roma's newest player.

The Italian club confirmed the signing of Molina, who returns to Serie A after four seasons at Atletico Madrid. The deal is worth around 17 million euros including add ons, closing out a spell in which the 28 year old defender earned himself a regular spot in Diego Simeone's plans.

Atletico didn't let the departure go by without a farewell message. In its official statement, the club said:

From Atletico de Madrid, we wish him the best of luck in his future professional and personal endeavors.Atletico de Madrid

Molina's path here wasn't the typical route of a sudden signing. He came up through Boca Juniors' youth ranks, went out on loan to Defensa y Justicia and Rosario Central, and then made the jump to Europe with Udinese. It was actually in Italy that he fully won Simeone over: across two seasons in Udinese's colors he played 68 matches, scoring 10 goals and adding 10 assists, numbers that opened the door to Atletico in mid 2022.

Since then, consistency has been his trademark. He racked up 181 official appearances for the Rojiblancos: 43 in his first season and 46 in each of the three that followed. That kind of reliability would be reason enough to stay put in most cases, but both the club and the player agreed a change of scenery could benefit them both.

Gasperini beat the competition to it

Roma wasn't the only club interested. Everton and Napoli had also been tracking Molina's situation closely, but the side coached by Gian Piero Gasperini moved first and moved decisively to get the deal done. The Italian manager was looking for an option on the right flank and found in the Argentine a fullback with the physical profile and experience his system demands.

For Molina, the challenge is twofold: settle into a new locker room and immediately repay the trust Roma has placed in him. The welcome at the airport already offered a glimpse of what it could mean for Roma fans to add a fullback with top level European experience, plus a World Cup title with the Argentina national team on his resume.