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

Matt Doherty has admitted he didn’t need convincing to join Atletico Madrid following his shock departure from Tottenham on deadline day.

With Spurs closing in on signing Pedro Porro, news broke that Doherty was set to leave the club to join Atlético on loan until the end of the season.

However, Tottenham had already given up their maximum number of players, and this led to Doherty’s contract being mutually terminated when he arrived at Atlético on a free transfer.

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

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

‘I never imagined at the time that something like this could happen. At the time, when I was doing everything, my initial dream was to play in the Premier League. I fulfilled that dream.

“But opportunities come up that are sometimes unexpected, and this was an opportunity that I saw that if I made the move I could improve as a person by exploring different cultures and different football.” As I said before, once the opportunity came, it was impossible for me to give it up.

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

“I’m here until the end of the season, but that doesn’t have to be the end. That will be up to me and I’ll try to do well and see where it takes me,” she added.

“Initially now it’s just for six months, but let’s see if I can continue to do well for the club and see what happens in the future.”

Doherty found it difficult to maintain a starting job at Tottenham in the early part of the season, looking rusty at times after injury late last season.

However, the 31-year-old has insisted he is ready to go straight into the team and is eager to prove himself to “world-class” manager Diego Simeone.

“For me it’s an opportunity to step up and work with another world-class manager, I’ve been lucky to be able to do that throughout my career,” Doherty said.

“So for me, this is about playing football, trying to get better, trying to help the team.”

‘As you know, he [Simeone] He doesn’t speak much 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 in the middle.

“Wherever he needs me, whether he plays five minutes or 90 minutes, he knows that I will not stop running and work as hard as possible for him, the club and my teammates.”