Atletico Madrid land Brazilian Assuncao, seeking Maniche exit

Atletico Madrid have signed Brazilian midfielder Paulo Assuncao as a free agent and are negotiating the sale of Portugal midfielder Maniche, the Primera Liga club said.

Assuncao, 28, used FIFA's Article 17 on transfer regulations to break out of his contract with Porto but Atletico are seeking to reach a "friendly agreement" with the Portuguese champions, they said on their website ( www.atleticodemadrid.com ).

Only available to players who have already served three years of their contract, or two years in the case of players aged 28 or over, article 17 effectively allows players to "buy out" the remaining time on long-term contracts.

Atletico said fellow midfielder Maniche would not be joining up with the rest of the squad this week, as they continued negotiations with a number of clubs over a possible transfer.

Assuncao, who won three league titles in his three seasons with Porto, will join Czech Republic defender Tomas Ujfalusi, Netherlands defender John Heitinga, France goalkeeper Gregory Coupet and French striker Florent Sinama Pongolle as new recruits at the Calderon.

The experienced Coupet, 35, represented France at Euro 2008.

He has been capped 34 times and helped Lyon to win seven consecutive league titles between 2002 and 2008. He will be presented today, the club said.

Atletico are in the third qualifying round of the Champions League after finishing fourth in the Primera Liga last season.

Sociedad go bankrupt

Spanish second division side Real Sociedad have successfully filed to go into administration to protect themselves from creditors.

"La Real cannot meet its obligations. The board are convinced this was the only way to guarantee the survival of the club," the two-times Primera Liga champions said in a statement.

"We should remember that Sporting Gijon and Malaga have also been in administration and both managed to secure promotion to the top flight (last month)."