Jan Oblak Renews Contract with Atlético Until 2021

Atlético Madrid confirmed on a Tuesday afternoon in February 2016 that Jan Oblak had renewed his contract, signing a new deal that tied him to the club until June 2021. The extension added a year to the terms agreed when the Slovenian arrived from Benfica just over 18 months earlier, and rewarded one of the standout individual seasons at the club.

It had not started smoothly. Oblak conceded three goals on a debut defeat to Olympiacos and struggled with a persistent back problem that at one stage could have seen him returned to Benfica. But after cementing his place as first choice towards the end of the 2014-15 season, the 23-year-old went from strength to strength, and made his 50th appearance for the club in the 3-1 win over Eibar the Saturday before the announcement.

“I’m very happy,” he said upon signing. “The team, coaching staff and everybody at the club have made me feel at home, and for these I wanted to stay here.” He added: “The renewal shows that the club have faith in me. I’m very grateful to those who made it happen, especially my agent Mika Mlaka and Miguel Ángel Gil.”

The numbers behind the deal were striking. Oblak’s 14 shut-outs were the most of any goalkeeper in Europe’s so-called top five leagues at the time, he held the best shots-to-saves ratio in La Liga, and he was conceding an average of just 0.48 goals per game in the race for the Zamora trophy. The all-time record stood at 0.44.

Many had expected Atlético to struggle to replace the popular Thibaut Courtois, yet the Calderón crowd took Oblak to heart, singing his name to the tune of “Cada día te quiero más” after goal kicks. “When I play I am focused on the match, but it’s always nice to hear the fans singing my name,” he said. “I want to carry on making them happy.”

Details of the new release clause were not immediately announced, though it was expected to rise from the previous €45 million, at a time when the goalkeeper was being linked with Manchester United as a possible successor to David de Gea. The renewal was also tipped as the first of several, with Antoine Griezmann, Ángel Correa and José María Giménez in line for new deals ahead of the club’s impending transfer ban. Oblak’s record-breaking career since is charted in the stats section and among the club’s modern greats; the seasons around this deal are covered in the club history and the wider archive.