Nahuel Molina is twenty-eight years old, has sixty-five caps for Argentina and, as of Wednesday, a Roma contract that runs to 2030. The right-back leaves Atlético Madrid on a permanent deal after four seasons, arriving in Serie A less than a month after ending his World Cup with a final lost to Spain.
The deal at a glance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Player | Nahuel Molina Lucero |
| Born | 6 April 1998 (28 years old) |
| Place of birth | Embalse, Argentina |
| Position | Right-back |
| Height | 1.75 m |
| Foot | Right |
| From | Atlético Madrid |
| To | Roma, permanent transfer |
| Contract | four years, to 30 June 2030 |
| Shirt | number 20 |
| La Liga 2025-26 | 26 appearances, 2 goals |
The numbers, and why they do not add up
An honest caveat is needed here. The sums reported in the press do not match: they range from around thirteen million plus bonuses up to eighteen, with some accounts reaching nineteen in total. On wages, the speculation points to roughly two million eight hundred thousand euros plus bonuses.
None of those figures has been officially confirmed. The club statement, as almost always happens in Italy, does no more than certify the transfer and the length of the contract. When the gap between sources is six million on a fifteen million deal, the correct thing to say is that the exact price is not public.
Who is actually arriving
Molina is not a gamble. He is a player with a straight, checkable record: eight appearances for Boca Juniors between 2016 and 2018, then two loans in Argentina, at Defensa y Justicia and Rosario Central, for around forty games in total.
The step into Europe came in 2020 with Udinese: sixty-four appearances and nine goals in two seasons, high output for a full-back. In 2022 Atlético Madrid signed him and made him a starter: one hundred and nineteen league games and eight goals in four years, with twenty-six appearances and two goals last season.
Alongside that runs the international career, which is a chapter on its own. Sixty-five caps, the World Cup won in 2022 with a goal in the quarter-final against the Netherlands, two Copa América titles lifted in 2021 and 2024, and the final of 19 July lost 1-0 to Spain after extra time.
The role waiting for him
Gian Piero Gasperini’s Roma asks its wide men for work that not every full-back can do: covering the flank for ninety minutes in both directions, pushing up to the byline and dropping back to complete a full defensive line when possession is lost.
That is exactly Molina’s profile. He is not a playmaker and never has been: his contribution is measured in ground covered, crosses attempted and duels on the touchline, not in final balls. Whoever signs him buys a wide defender of volume, not a creator disguised as one.
The number to watch is a different one, and it is his age. At twenty-eight a running full-back is at the top of the curve, not the start of it: a contract to 2030 will take him to thirty-two as a Roma player. This is a bet on physical durability rather than on development.
What Madrid loses
On the other side is a club parting with a four-year regular without replacing him in the same window, at least for now. Molina was never absolutely undroppable at Atlético, but he was a constant: four seasons above twenty-five league games is the kind of output you notice when it disappears.
For the Spanish side, the logic seems to be cashing in on a player who turns twenty-nine in April while his market value is still intact. That is a defensible position, and it becomes a problem only if the replacement arrives late and costs more.
What this signing tells us
Roma have solved a position with a ready, internationally proven player without waiting for the last week of the window. It is the kind of move that gets judged quickly: after ten games we will know whether the rhythm of Serie A lifts him or wears him down.
The real question concerns years three and four of the contract. A wide defender who lives on running is not the same player at thirty-one that you buy today, and Roma know it. The choice was to take the certainty now and postpone the problem: legitimate, as long as somebody grows behind him in the meantime.
Data and information gathered from public sources: official club communications, Wikipedia, Italian and Spanish sports press, archives of international competitions. Financial figures are press estimates and have not been confirmed by the clubs.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Nahuel Molina?
An Argentine right-back born on 6 April 1998 in Embalse. He is 1.75 metres tall, right-footed, and played for Atlético Madrid from 2022 to 2026. He has 65 caps for Argentina.
How much did Roma pay?
Reported figures vary considerably by outlet, from around thirteen million plus bonuses up to eighteen or nineteen million in total. The clubs have not made the financial details public.
What contract did he sign?
A four-year contract running to 30 June 2030. He has taken the number 20 shirt. The move is permanent, not a loan with an option to buy.
What kind of full-back is he?
A running, repeating wide defender used to covering the whole flank. In four seasons at Atlético Madrid he made 119 league appearances and scored 8 goals, including 26 appearances and 2 goals in the most recent Spanish league campaign.
What has he won with Argentina?
The 2022 World Cup, where he scored in the quarter-final against the Netherlands, and two Copa América titles, in 2021 and 2024. In 2026 he reached the final, lost to Spain.
