Ghana's Thomas Teye Partey holds a Spanish passport as it has been revealed by Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

The Rojiblancos are faced with the trouble of exceeding the EU quota which is three with players such as Santiago Arias (Colombia), Felipe (Brazil) and Renan Lodi (Brazil) currently occupying the slots.

But should Brexit be official by 1 January 2021, Kieran Trippier will be a non EU player and would need to free a spot for him.

Other Atlético players such as José María Giménez (Uruguay), Thomas Partey (Ghana), Diego Costa (Brazil) and Ángel Correa (Argentina) have been living in Spain for a long time and already have a Spanish passport.

Before one is able to apply for citizenship in Spain, in order to meet the 10 years of residence criteria he or she will need to apply for permanent residency. Permanent residents are required to have lived in Spain for at least five years.

Residency must be legal and continuous immediately prior to the application. If any of your time in Spain is as a student, that time won’t be considered legal residency and therefore cannot be applied towards applications por residencia.