RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA - AUGUST 09: Atletico Madrid players pose during the preseason friendly match between Manchester City and Atletico Madrid at Seoul World Cup Stadium on August 09, 2026 in Seoul, South Korea. (Photo by Chung Sung-Jun/Getty Images)
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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.
The coach: Diego Simeone
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 semi-finals 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.
MAJADAHONDA, SPAIN - JULY 29: Coach Diego Simeone of Atletico Madrid during the Pre-Season Friendly match between Atletico de Madrid and Getafe at Estadio Cerro del Espino Training Center on July 29, 2026 in Majadahonda, Spain. (Photo by LOF/BSR Agency/Getty Images)
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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.
The star man: Julián Álvarez
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.
The one to watch: Pablo Barrios
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.
Atletico Madrid players including Pablo Barrios (C) wave to fans after they lost to Manchester City in their exhibition football match at Seoul World Cup Stadium in Seoul on August 9, 2026. (Photo by GREG BAKER / AFP via Getty Images)
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Expected lineup
Simeone has experimented with his structures and systems in pre-season, partly through a lack of his usual first-team players being available, but also in a way which offers insight into how Atleti will line up. The most likely scenario is a move away from the 4-2-3-1 of last season, to revert to a new look 3...
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