Marc Pubill: The Full-Back Simeone Turned Into a Centre-Back

Some players arrive at a club to fill a position. Others arrive and end up redefining what that position means altogether. Marc Pubill belongs to the second category. His story at Atlético de Madrid is not that of a transfer that worked out well. It is the story of a complete, silent, surgical transformation — one that says as much about the player as it does about the manager who orchestrated it.

When Atlético de Madrid closed the signing of Pubill from Almería in the summer of 2025, the objective was straightforward: cover the right flank of the defence, where Nahuel Molina was on his way out, and Marcos Llorente had grown increasingly uncomfortable in that role.

The Rojiblancos had first tried to sign Jesús Areso, but Athletic Club appeared at the last minute and snatched the Navarrese. Pubill was Plan B. What nobody imagined at the time was that Plan B would become one of the most intriguing pieces in the entire Atlético setup. That is how football works sometimes: the best moves don’t always come from the first intention.

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