Facundo Medina joins Bayer Leverkusen in a multi-million euro transfer

Facundo Medina is set to join Bayer Leverkusen, marking his move to one of Europe's top five leagues after six years in France. The Argentine defender arrived in Germany for his medical examination, the final step before his official announcement as a new Bayer Leverkusen player.

Olympique de Marseille transferred Medina, who played 309 minutes across five matches in the recent World Cup, for an estimated 25 million euros. River Plate, his former club, will receive around 750,000 euros through FIFA's solidarity mechanism, which distributes a percentage of transfer fees to clubs that developed a player. Talleres de Córdoba, where Medina played between 2018 and 2020, will also receive approximately 350,000 euros.

Medina's transfer value has seen significant growth since mid-2023, when Talleres sold him to Lens for 3.5 million euros. After playing 165 games for Lens, he was loaned to Olympique de Marseille for two million euros a year ago. Marseille recently purchased his rights for 18 million euros and has now negotiated his sale to Bayer Leverkusen, securing a substantial profit that aids their financial situation and helps avoid potential penalties for Financial Fair Play violations.

At 27 years old, Medina will share the squad with fellow River Plate youth product Exequiel Palacios. Medina's journey from humble beginnings in Villa Fiorito, the same neighborhood as Diego Maradona, to a professional footballer is a testament to his resilience. He reportedly worked as a cartonero, collecting recyclable materials, as a child to help his family survive before finding structure at River's academy at age 12.

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There was a need to survive in the neighborhood. I rented a cart and...