At the time of writing, one Spanish La Liga club has spent some €183 million ($205 million) on new players during the summer transfer window – but it’s not the one you might think.
While the spending of Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, La Liga’s usual suspects when it comes to prolific payouts, has been relatively demure by their standards, Atletico Madrid has gone rogue – splashing out a huge sum on new blood.
For a club that didn’t have the best of times during the 2022/23 campaign, it’s a real statement of intent… but what happens if the expected improvement doesn’t materialize?
Three is the Magic Number
At least the betting UK odds for La Liga suggest that Atleti’s spending has not been in vain – they have returned to their traditional position as ‘next best’ in the league winner odds at +1000, behind Real Madrid (-300) and Barcelona (+250).
The sports betting tips columns will no doubt focus on that triumvirate too, but don’t forget the ascendance of Girona last term – they were threatening a run at the title for much of the campaign, before having to settle for third place.
For Atleti, improvement is sought – and needed – after their travails in 2023/24. It’s true that they reached the quarter-finals of the Champions League, and the semis of the Copa del Rey, but fourth-place in La Liga is at least one position too low.
For context, the Colchoneros finished inside La Liga’s top three every season between 2012/13 to 2022/23, so last term was very much an anomaly and an aberration for them.
So, to turn things around, Diego Simeone has gone to the club’s money men and pleaded for investment – it has been forthcoming, but that in itself brings with it a pressure to deliver an instant ROI… or else.
All Change
Simeone has opted for revolution, rather than evolution, in the summer transfer window.
As many as ten players have left the Metropolitano Stadium, including 21-goal Alvaro Morata, fan-favorite Saul Niguez, and other figures – peripheral or otherwise – like Stefan Savic, Mario Hermoso, and Memphis Depay.
They will be replaced by a handful of proven performers from the English Premier League, as well as Robin Le Normand – he heads to Madrid after a fine summer in which he played a key role in Spain’s victory at EURO 2024.
Alexander Sorloth, meanwhile, delivered 29 La Liga goal involvements (23 scored, six assists) in 2023/24 for Villarreal, so he is a player that will be expected to produce the goods from day one as an Atleti player.
Happily for him, he opened his goalscoring account for the club on his debut against Villarreal in their La Liga opener in August.
Big name signings bring with them big-time pressure, and it won’t be long before the dissenters begin to voice their opinions if the new-look Atleti don’t click as a unit early on.
At which point, the pressure might begin to build on Simeone. It’s unfathomable to think of him not being Atletico Madrid’s head coach – he took the helm way back in 2011, making him one of the longest-serving managers in any of European football’s ‘big five’ leagues.
But the big changes on the pitch could be matched by one in the dugout if Simeone’s Atleti revolution fails to take off.
