Atlético Ottawa is delighted to announce that an agreement has been found with Atlético de Madrid to extend the loan deal for Spanish defender Diego Espejo, bringing the 20-year-old back to the Canadian Premier League for the 2023 campaign.

Diego Espejo was a stand-out performer in the 2022 CPL season, featuring 28 times at the heart of one of the league’s most resolute defences as Atlético Ottawa was crowned CPL Regular Season champions. Born in Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain, he started his soccer journey with the C.D. Tenerife before joining the Atlético de Madrid program in 2016. He joined the Atlético de Madrid B side in July 2021 after honing his skills with the U17, U18, and U19 squads. He has also been identified as part of the Spanish U17 National Team program, taking part in two friendlies in 2018, but has yet to feature in competition with any of the country’s national teams.

Atlético Ottawa and Inter Miami have agreed to send Espejo on trial with the MLS outlet in January during their pre-season training camp in Florida before joining up with the rest of the Ottawa squad ahead of the upcoming Canadian Premier League campaign. This opportunity has been made possible thanks to the collaboration between Atlético de Madrid, their affiliated clubs and Inter Miami, providing players with access to this sort of exciting professional opportunities.