Villarreal have agreed to sign defender Renato Veiga permanently for a fee of £25.5 million from Chelsea, according to [journalist Fabrizio Romano](https://x.com/FabrizioRomano/status/1958199663820996856?t=MnhSsqErBjIHUeo0CuivSQ&s=19).
Veiga joined Chelsea last summer from Basel for a £14m transfer fee, on a contract until June 2031, with an option to extend for a further year.
The versatile defender made 18 appearances for Chelsea, netting twice in the Conference League.
He spent the second half of the season in Italy, on loan at Juventus, where he made 15 appearances and helped the club qualify for the Champions League after the club paid a £5m loan fee.
The Portuguese international returned to Cobham and was left out of the first team training, as he was not part of Enzo Maresca’s plan due to the acquisition of versatile defender Jorell Hato from Ajax.
Veiga was called up to the senior Portugal national team for the first time for the UEFA Nations League matches against Croatia and Scotland in September 2024.
He made his debut on 13 October, starting in a 3–1 away victory against Poland in the UEFA Nations League.
In May 2025, Veiga was selected for Portugal’s 2025 UEFA Nations League Finals squad.
He and his team would go on to win the tournament 5–3 in a penalty shootout over rivals Spain. He has so far played five times for Roberto Martinez’s side.
The 22-year-old is set to become the Yellow Submarine’s record signing since Arnaut Danjuma, who joined from Bournemouth for £20.3m.
He will be Villarreal’s sixth signing of the season after Tajon Buchanan, Santiago Mouriño, and Rafa Marín, among others.
More departures are expected at the Bridge, with [Christopher Nkunku](https://thesportstoday.com/2025/08/19/rb-leipzig-begin-talks-with-chelsea-for-christopher-nkunkus-return/) and Nicolas Jackson all set to exit West London.
Villarreal host Girona in their first match of the new La Liga campaign on Sunday.