Ruggeri by Name, 'Tug'geri by Nature - Who is Aston Villa's Controversial New Signing

Ruggeri Lands - Who Is He?

Ruggeri made 47 appearances for Atletico Madrid last season, recording seven assists in his debut season.

The Italian was signed for €17 million from Atalanta for Atletico Madrid after having impressive seasons for the La Dea, most notably featuring in their Europa league success in 2024.

Fabrizio Romano reported the 'here we go' over the last few days and reported that the player is expected to undergo a medical soon before signing pen to paper to make him Villa's fifth signing this summer in a very hectic window for the club.

🚨🟣🔵 Aston Villa reach verbal agreement to sign Matteo Ruggeri from Atlético Madrid, here we go!

Deal in place between clubs for €25m fixed fee plus €1.5m add-ons, Ruggeri has also agreed on terms.

Medical and travel this week if documents are approved in next hours. 🇮🇹 pic.twitter.com/dOXgBCyRNA

— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 11, 2026

Villa have long been searching for a replacement for Lucas Digne who departed to boyhood club PSG earlier this summer. The club was long linked with former Brighton left-back Pervis Estupinan throughout the summer, but the fee commanded by AC Milan wasn't deemed feasible.

Can he Replace the Space Left by Lucas Digne?

Villa signed Digne for Villa €30 million from Everton in 2021, and the Frenchman has since been a stalwart in their left side of defence.

Digne achieved six assists last season, with Villa having another great season under Unai Emery with Europa League trophy success and a 4th place finish over the likes of Liverpool and Chelsea.

In an up and down window for Villa, Digne is one of three key players to have left Villa Park this season among Youri Tielemans and Morgan Rogers after which they have spent most of the summer trying to replace.

For a total of €122 million Villa have signed four players this summer, with players such as Johan Manzambi, Joao Gomes, Modou Cisse and new boy Matteo Ruggeri coming on a permanent fee, with controversial character Alejandro Garnacho signing on loan to raise a few eyebrows.

Is Rugerri a Good Addition for Aston Villa

With the addition of Matteo Ruggeri, it fills the void left by Luca Digne and adds to the reinvented team in a new phase under Unai Emery's reign.

The full back did not arrive in time for their losing clash against PSG in the Super Cup but could possibly feature in Villa's opening league game against Brighton.

The return of European football is near 🍿

PSG take on Aston Villa in the UEFA Super Cup Final 🤩

Watch live on TNT Sports and HBO Max this Wednesday from 7pm 📺 pic.twitter.com/6lCPxX8AjO

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) August 9, 2026

It is yet to know how Ruggeri will transition to the intensity of the Premier League, but fans can be happy that Villa that the spaces left void from outgoings and now are readily equipped to combat a very competitive season.

Why Ruggeri's Signing is Controversial

Of course, it's tricky to talk about Aston Villa's new signing on the pitch without remarking to the man he appears to be away from it.

As we wrote about at the end of June, Ruggeri has been in hot water recently after it was revealed that he had been using the services of a prostitute in Spain in an... alarming way.

🇮🇹🤮 Huge scandal from Matteo Ruggeri coming in this morning as a woman exposes him for DMs on Instagram.

Matteo Ruggeri would pay this woman €150 for each *s*xual* audio message she sends him.

He made requests for blasphemous phrases, racist statements, and insults directed… pic.twitter.com/thPHfrA0g6

— Atletico Universe (@atletiuniverse) June 29, 2026

According to the girl, who leaked these conversations onto Instagram a couple of months ago, the Italian defender would request that the escort say a number of hateful and demeaning slurs against people of colour and certain minorities before, ahem, showing his enjoyment at her eventual replies whilst paying €150 for the trouble every time.

Atletico Madrid fan pages and supporters across all of social media passionately called for Ruggeri's departure just one year after he joined from Serie A side Atalanta. They've got their wish, now, with Villa taking the bad press on the chin to source their Digne replacement.