Bernard Mensah’s case is interesting since he was identified as highly talented by many elite clubs in Europe before signing for Atlético Madrid.

The Ghanaian international joined Los Colchoneros on a six-year deal two seasons ago but failed to make a senior debut which saw him spending time on loan at Getafe, Vitória Guimarães and Kasimpasa

The highly skilled-enforcer was again shipped on loan to Kayserispor on a season long loan at the start of the of the Turkish SuperLiga campaign.

There were others in a similar situation. The research below include players who signed for the Spanish giants but never made their debuts.

Diogo Jota

Coming to Atletico Madrid from Porto, this Portuguese forward showed a lot of promise, being announced as a star coming right out of the Oporto club production line. The pre-season was spent at Simeone and played different friendly matches. However, the end of his sting was leaving during the same year to Wolves through a loan. The English club decided to permanently sign him in 2018.

Andre Moreira

Moreira was brought in as a successor to Jan Oblak as Manchester United did not know if it could keep a hold of David de Gea. Then, as time passed, nothing happened and Moreira never actually played a competitive game for Atletico Madrid. He did play on loans for Sporting Braga, Aston Villa, Belenenses and Moreirense. Now he is playing for Feirense.

Emiliano Velazquez

During the 2014-2015 season Emiliano Velazquez signed a contract with Atletico Madrid but now he has zero appearances for the team. Loan spells were spent with Sporting Braga and Getafe. Now he is on loan with Rayo Vallecano.

Julio Alves

In the 2011-2012 season we saw Julio Alves registered in the squad. However, right after that he was simply loaned out to Besiktas. He never did return.

Catalin Munteanu

Atletico Madrid’s scouts identified Catalin Munteanu as a highly promising prospect after a really strong season playing at Salamanca. Even so, after he arrived at the club and went through the pre-season schedule, he was loaned out to Espanyol. Then, he played for Albacete. Next, he was released, eventually being picked up by Real Murcia.

Santos Borre

Borre came from Deportivo de Cali, during the 2015-2016 season. This Colombian forward was seen as a potential success story but what followed was a season playing for Villarreal on a loan. Then, he was just sold for 3 million EURO to River Plate. He never played a game for Atletico Madrid.

Ruben Michael

Last but not least, Ruben was signed in 2011-2012 but was just quickly loaned out in order to increase development. Then, he was signed for a loss of 2 million Euro to Sporting Braga.