RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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SportsMoney Atletico Madrid 2026-27 Season Preview: Lineups, Transfers, Predictions By Sam Leveridge ,
Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights. Sam Leveridge is a reporter based in Spain with a focus on soccer. Follow Author Aug 14, 2026, 01:33pm EDT Aug 14, 2026, 01:44pm EDT --:-- / --:-- This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . This voice experience is generated by AI. Learn more . Summary Atletico Madrid begins 2026-27 without all-time top scorer Antoine Griezmann, centering their attack around Julián Álvarez and other major signings. Kang-in Lee, Alex Grimaldo, and Morten Hjulmand also join to bolster the squad, representing a deliberate shift towards proven talent. Manager Diego Simeone, now in his 16th season, must integrate these players into his system after five trophy-less campaigns, despite reaching cup finals and semifinals last year. Álvarez, central to Simeone's plans despite transfer rumors, will lead the line. Young midfielder Pablo Barrios is poised for a breakout season. The team aims for Champions League qualification and deep cup runs, with a crucial early derby against Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid enter 2026-27 without their all-time top scorer Antoine Griezmann, replacing him not with one successor but with a reshaped attack built around a group of returning World Cup winner and three new signings.
After a preseason campaign which saw Atleti crash to consecutive defeats to Manchester United and Manchester City sandwiched in between wins over Getafe and Marseille.
Los Colchoneros now look to build on last season’s fourth-placed finish, a joint-worst performance since Diego Simeone’s debut season in 2011-12. 2025-26 compensated with thrilling cup runs to the final of the Copa del Rey and semifinal of the UEFA Champions League, but ultimately left the squad empty-handed for a fifth consecutive season.
Simeone remains the most tenured manager in Europe’s top five leagues, and the calculus around him has not changed: Atletico finished fourth in La Liga last season, secured Champions League qualification, but fell in the semifinals to Arsenal after a topsy-turvy continental campaign.
It means that Simeone now enters his sixth season without a trophy, following the La Liga win in 2021, in what is his sixteenth season in charge. Sporting director Mateu Alemany has now given Simeone the freshest attacking options of his tenure, and the coach’s task is to fold new faces into a system that has always prized structure and intensity over individual flair.
Atletico's rebuild started in February, when they paid Atalanta a reported €35 million ($40 million) for Nigeria winger Ademola Lookman, a deal completed mid-season to address a struggling attack.
The summer window brought three more significant additions. South Korea international Kang-in Lee arrived from Paris Saint-Germain for a reported €35 million ($40 million), inheriting the number seven shirt left vacant by Antoine Griezmann’s departure, while Spain national team full-back Alex Grimaldo and Denmark midfielder Morten Hjulmand joined earlier in the window to reinforce the base of the team.
Grimaldo, Hjulmand and Lee represent a deliberate shift toward players with proven pedigree at elite clubs, joining from recent Bundesliga, Liga Portugal and Ligue Une champions in Bayer Leverkusen, Sporting CP and Paris Saint-Germain.
Talks are ongoing for further additions, with Tottenham and Argentina defender Cristián Romero one of the names most strongly linked. He would help to balance a defence which has lost Clement Lenglet, who signed for Benfica, Nahuel Molina, who left for Roma, and Matteo Ruggeri, who is close to joining Aston Villa.
In midfield, Thiago Almada’s time at the club lasted just one year as he left to join Argentine giants River Plate, while Antoine Griezmann also brought the curtain down on his legendary stay at the club as he joined Orlando City.
Julián Álvarez has spent much of the summer as the subject of a transfer saga that dominated the Spanish football conversation, with Barcelona tabling bids reported as high as €130 million ($150 million) and the World Cup runner-up publicly stating his preference for a move.
Atlético has repeatedly ruled out a sale, and Álvarez has returned to preseason training with the club, seemingly ending months of speculation. He remains the player Simeone intends to build the attack around, and his continued presence, after a summer many at the club feared would end differently, is arguably Atlético's biggest result before a ball has been kicked.
What remains to be seen is whether Álvarez will be motivated and focused. His return of only eight league goals last season was disappointing, and all eyes will be on the Argentine. Injury to Alexander Sørloth in preseason preparations means that he could be the only forward available when the campaign begins. He couldn’t ask for a better opportunity.
This season will be crucial for Pablos Barrios. Now aged 23, he comes off the back of an injury-hit 2025-26 campaign which saw him miss almost the entirety of the second half of the season. This time around, he has the leading role in midfield, with captain Koke expected to be entering his final season, and other rivals Johnny Cardoso and signing Morten Hjulmand will need time after undergoing surgery and adjusting to the Spanish league.
Few doubt Barrios’ raw talent, with an impressive passing ability and vision tying in with stamina and a work rate which allows him to be a true box-to-box midfielder. The question marks come over consistency and whether he can stay fit for the full season, after his struggles in the previous campaign.
In Simeone, he has a supporter. It’s clear that Barrios will be given a shot at stepping up this season, but failure to do so could see him slip further down the pecking order and risk his role as the midfield leader in the future.
Simeone has experimented with his structures and systems in pre-...
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