Atletico Madrid's Geoffrey Kondogbia to join Marseille

Madrid [Spain], July 1 : Atletico Madrid officially announced the departure of Geoffrey Kondogbia on Friday. The 30-year-old midfielder will join Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille for the 2023/24 season.

The club released an official statement to announce the transfer on their official website.

"Atletico de Madrid and Olympique de Marseille have reached an agreement for the transfer of Geoffrey Kondogbia to the French team. From Atletico de Madrid we wish Geoffrey Kondogbia every success in this new professional stage."

The Central African player arrived at the Spanish club in the summer of 2020, from Valencia. He ended up playing a total of 93 matches for the club over three seasons. He was also a part of the team that won the La Liga championship in the 2020/21 campaign.

He shared a special message for the fans after his departure became imminent. Taking to Instagram he wrote, "Thank God for having made me wear this shirt and being able to discover inside what Atletico Madrid is for 3 years I have been able to learn their unique values and understand why it is such a special family. Thanks to all my teammates, the coaches, the managers and of course the mattress fans for these three seasons that are now part of my history. I wish you all the best in the future."

https://instagram.com/p/CuHxcbntdJ6/

Kondogbia has had a history of playing in France as he was an RC Lens academy graduate and played his first professional match at the age of 17.

He was regularly called up for the French youth national team, and he ended up winning the U20 World Cup. After featuring for the French national team several times, he decided to join the Central African Republic national team in 2018, where he was handed the captain's armband.

Throughout his career, Kondogbia has played for clubs belonging to different European regions, He went to Sevilla FC, Inter Milan, and then AS Monaco. After two seasons in Italy, he returned to Spain to join Valencia CF, and ended up becoming a key player under Marcelino's guidance. The duo lifted the Copa del Rey trophy against FC Barcelona in 2019 and later took the club to the UEFA Champions League in two consecutive seasons.

Now once again he will join hands and play under Marcelino the new coach. After Marcelino's appointment was confirmed he said as quoted by the club's official website, "I want to thank Olympique de Marseille for the trust placed in me. Our discussions about the team and the project have encouraged reflection in making an informed and considered decision. Along with my entire staff, we are convinced by the project. I understand the responsibility that this mission represents and our commitment will be total."