Matt Doherty admits it was a ‘no-brainer’ to join Atletico Madrid

Matt Doherty has admitted that he did not need convincing to join Atletico Madrid following his shock exit from Tottenham on deadline day.

With Spurs closing in on signing Pedro Porro, news came through that Doherty was set to exit the club to join Atletico on loan until the end of the season.

However, Tottenham had already loaned out their maximum number of players, and this led to Doherty’s contract being mutually terminated as he arrived at Atletico on a free transfer.

Doherty has admitted it was a whirlwind 24 hours, but is happy to be in the Spanish capital after bringing his two-and-a-half year stay at Tottenham to an end.  

‘For me, it was kind of a no-brainer once the opportunity came and I had to take it with both hands. It’s an absolute pleasure to be here,’ Doherty told the Spanish press as he was unveiled as an Atletico player on Wednesday afternoon.

The move to Atletico brought to an end his two-and-a-half year stay at Tottenham

‘I never imagined at the time something like this would be able to happen. Back in time when I was doing everything my dream initially was to play in the Premier League. I fulfilled that dream.

‘But opportunities come that are unexpected at times, and this was an opportunity I saw that if I made the move I could better myself as a person exploring different cultures and different football. Like I said before, once the opportunity came it was impossible for me to give it up.’

Doherty has signed a deal that runs until the end of the season, but has revealed that he is open to extending his contract if he can hit the ground running in the Spanish capital.

‘I am here until the end of the season, but that doesn’t have to be the end. That will be up to me and I will try to perform well and see where it takes me,’ he added.

‘Initially now it is only for six months, but let’s see if I can continue to do well for the club and see what happens going forward.’

Doherty found it difficult to hold down a starting spot at Tottenham in the first part of the season, and looked rusty at times after an injury lay-off at the end of last season.

The 31-year-old has insisted that he is ready to go straight into the team, though, and is looking forward to proving his worth to ‘world-class’ manager Diego Simeone.

‘For me it is an opportunity to improve myself and work under another world-class manager, I’ve been fortunate enough where I have been able to do that through my career,’ Doherty said.

‘So for me this is all about playing football, trying to improve myself, trying to help the team.  

‘As you know he [Simeone] doesn’t speak a lot of English, so my message to him was I’m here, I’m fit, I’m strong and I’m ready to play. I can play for him on the left, I can play for him on the right or through the middle.

‘Wherever he needs me, whether I play five minutes or 90 minutes, he knows that I won’t stop running and working as hard as possible for him, the club and my team-mates.’ 

Doherty told the Spanish press that it was ‘impossible’ to turn down the chance to join Atletico