Roma have completed the permanent signing of Nahuel Molina from Atletico Madrid, confirming the Argentina international as their latest arrival of the summer transfer window. The deal was reported as a fixed fee of around €13m plus roughly €4m in add-ons, putting the total package at close to €18m. Molina, 28, passed a medical in Rome before signing a four-year contract at Trigoria, tying him to the club through to 2030 on wages reported at around €2.5m a season.
The move fulfils a specific request from Roma head coach Gian Piero Gasperini, who has been pushing for more thrust and quality down the right side of his defence as he reshapes the squad this summer. Gasperini's teams are built around attacking full-backs and wing-backs who get forward in numbers to support the front line, and Molina's mix of pace, energy and end product made him a natural target for that role. He arrives alongside fellow new signings Santiago Castro and Konstantinos Koulierakis as part of a busy rebuild in the Italian capital, with the head coach keen to have his new-look defence settled before the Serie A season gets under way.
For Atletico Madrid, the sale brings to an end four years in which Molina was first-choice right-back under Diego Simeone, featuring at two World Cups with Argentina and winning the tournament in Qatar in 2022 across 65 caps. The move is partly financial: Atletico are using the funds raised from Molina's exit, together with Matteo Ruggeri's departure, to help finance a new centre-back, with Argentina team-mate Cristian Romero among those linked with a move to the Metropolitano. Simeone is not expected to bring in a direct replacement at right-back, instead turning to Marcos Llorente, summer signing Marc Pubill and academy product Javi Boñar to cover the position.
Molina remained a regular for Atletico through the 2025-26 season, racking up more than 1,300 La Liga minutes with two goals and two assists from right-back before his exit, continuing the attacking output that defined his time in Spain since joining from Udinese in 2022. He made his name at Atletico as an overlapping full-back who could set up chances as much as stop them, and he heads to Serie A with his reputation as a reliable, high-volume performer very much intact. His experience of two World Cup campaigns, including the 2022 win, also makes him one of the most decorated players to arrive at Trigoria this summer.
At Roma, Molina should slot in as a right-sided wing-back or full-back in Gasperini's system, where the licence to attack from deep should suit a player who has spent his career pushing forward. His experience at the top level of club and international football is likely to be valued in a Roma squad going through significant summer change, and if he reproduces his Atletico form, he gives Gasperini a genuine goal threat and creative outlet from a defensive position rather than just cover at the back. With pre-season under way, he is expected to be pushed straight into contention for a starting spot once he is fully up to speed with his new team-mates.