Aston Villa transfer news: Diego Carlos joins Fenerbahce for £8.45m
Carlos signed for Villa when Steven Gerrard was in charge in 2022
Aston Villa defender Diego Carlos has joined Fenerbahce for a reported £8.45million.
The Brazilian centre-back signed for Villa from Seville in the summer of 2022 for a fee thought to be in the region of £29m.
He made 58 appearances for the West Midlands side, struggling to nail down a regular starting spot during his time at Villa Park.
Carlos has signed a three-and-a-half year deal with Jose Mourinho’s side, who are second in the Turkish league.
Welcome to our family, Diego Carlos 💛💙
Our club has finalized an agreement with Aston Villa and Brazilian center-back Diego Carlos for his transfer.
Diego Carlos has signed a 3.5-year contract with our club.
We warmly welcome our new player to the family and wish him great… pic.twitter.com/nbGsp4n13N
— Fenerbahçe English (@Fenerbahce_EN) January 23, 2025
Carlos had not been involved in Villa’s last five games as his departure edged closer.
The 31-year-old suffered a long-term injury in just his second game for Villa against Everton in August 2022.
After returning from that issue, he established himself as a useful part of Unai Emery’s defensive options last season as Villa qualified for the Champions League.
This season, Carlos has made 17 appearances but fail to break in past Ezri Konsa, Pau Torres and, more recently, Tyrone Mings in the pecking order.
The Villans have signed forward Donyell Malen from Borussia Dortmund and right-back Andres Garcia from Levante so far in the January transfer window.
Villa said they “wish Diego good luck in his new professional chapter”.