Will Atletico break the domination of Real and Barcelona after spending spree?
Julian Alvarez alone will cost the Madrid outfit up to €95 million, but in total the 2020/21 LaLiga winners are looking to finalise five first-team players this summer in a push to strengthen the squad. This is a targeted renewal of the squad that will outstrip all Spanish teams combined in financial terms.
Who has come in?
Atletico's reinforcements start with a striker, who scored 26 goals and assisted six more for Villarreal last season. Alexander Sorloth, who narrowly missed out on the La Liga top scorer title at the expense of Artem Dovbyk, was an equally desirable alternative for the Ukrainian cannonballer, who eventually headed to AS Roma.
The Norwegian cost Los Colchoneros up to €35 million, as did the cornerstone of Spain's defence in winning the Euro, Robin Le Normand.
More reinforcements are on the way, with Madrid fans certainly looking forward to Alvarez the most. The Manchester City player, who is a serial trophy collector, contributed a goal every 109 minutes last season thanks to scoring 19 timex and claiming13 assists.
The midfield will then be guarded by the indefatigable Conor Gallagher. At Chelsea, he reigned supreme in all the stats telling of the midfielder's combativeness, and was directly involved in 16 goals to boot.
Even with bonuses, these four reinforcements will cost Atletico 207 million euros. The transfer of Javi Guerra is still to be completed. Only 21 years old, the midfielder, who has a penchant for defensive interventions, has been a key player for Valencia despite his young age.
The club from Madrid also want David Hancko who scored 10 goals for Feyenoord last season from centre-back. Sparta, which has a percentage of the sale, would also benefit significantly from the transfer. In the final tally, Los Colchoneros plan to spend around 277 million euros.
Where have Atletico got the money?
Spanish teams are the biggest spenders in the top 5 leagues by a landslide this summer, with the fourth LaLiga outfit on course to spend more than all of its first division competition - around €200 million in total. However, this doesn't include the astronomical bonus for Kylian Mbappe's transfer, which is more than half that amount.
So how can Atleti afford to rebuild their squad? The answer is simple: sales, profit from competitions, reduced wage costs and, above all, patience with the accumulated funds.
The club accountants have already been relieved by the departures of Alvaro Morata, Memphis Depay and six other players. The €110 million profit will then be made up of the profits from last year and this summer after Samu Omorodion joins Chelsea.
The clearance of Joao Felix can also be expected this summer too. Moreover, Madrid are a regular in the Champions League, which doesn't have the nickname of a millionaire's competition for nothing. It will be rivalled in terms of earnings by the newly formatted Club World Cup, with each team, including Atletico, receiving €50 million for qualification alone.
None of the kaufas are a shot in the dark. The core of the squad was aging and needed rejuvenation. The average age of all the aforementioned reinforcements is 25, and of the players sold - 31. So it is not a case of looking for sensation in teenage prospects, but of reinforcing players who combine experience with a relatively young age.
Long-time coach Simeone has a say in the transfers, getting players tailor-made for his system. So trophy ambitions for the Madrid team might not be just wishful thinking.
