Martin Demichelis signs with Malaga

It’s officially official. Despite many rumors and reports linking veteran center back Martin Demichelis to Atlanta United, he has signed with La Liga club Malaga for the second time in his career.

Reports out of Spain and Argentina had Demichelis reuniting with his former Argentina national team manager Tata Martino in Atlanta, but as the AJC’s Doug Roberson has reported, there doesn’t appear to be any truth to those. A source told him last week that the club hadn’t even been in contact with the 36-year-old defender.

The narrative around his official signing with Malaga is that they “beat out” Atlanta for his signature, which is a bit laughable. Looking at the possible transfer from a logical standpoint, Demichelis never made sense for United. He’s an aging defender who is arguably one of the slowest defenders in the world. For a club who has made a concerted effort to go young and dynamic, signing someone like him wouldn’t have fit the gameplan.

While the links to Tata were obvious, the reasoning for the rumors ends there. Thankfully, the rumors were just that and we can all move on.