Atlético's future after the Club World Cup failure: Simeone, what now?

"We're going to win the Club World Cup, that's the goal." Diego Simeone expressed himself with such force just two weeks ago. The club and Atlético de Madrid fans were thrilled, despite the team being drawn into Group B of the tournament, perhaps the most difficult. As of June 25th, the squad is already on vacation, unable to make it past the first round due to a poor night in a fleeting competition. "If you're not decisive in tournaments like this, you're gone," the coach stated after his team's insufficient 1-0 win against Botafogo. Despite securing six points, the three-way tie at the summit left everything to the goals, and the four conceded against PSG represented an insurmountable and knockout burden.

"It's a great opportunity to continue evolving, to be clear about what we need as a club," said the coach in the press conference after the match against the Brazilians, the last of the 2024/25 season. But club and coach need to agree on interests if, as Cholo expressed in a previous interview, in addition to "leaving a legacy," "third place is no longer enough." A message for everyone.

If it's true that the manager and the club's ambition have grown for the coming seasons, logic dictates that this summer has to be at least as productive in terms of signings as the last. Last season was planned with an investment of around 188 million euros in high-profile signings. In addition to the 75 million euros for star player Julián Álvarez , there are also 42 million euros for Conor Gallagher , almost 35 million for Robin Le Normand , and 32 million for Alexander Sorloth .

"There are times when we are not at the level"

This year, Villarreal will once again be a breeding ground for the Red and Whites' ambitions, and Álex Baena has a good chance of playing at the Metropolitano. The signing of Betis player Johnny Cardoso is also well underway, and the combined cost will be around 80 million euros. In hindsight, perhaps an effort should have been made to speed up his arrival for this tournament, even though the club wasn't planning on spending "10 million euros for a month."

The evidence was that the squad was underpowered for this tournament, and that the refereeing was the excuse they used despite the fact that, in all three matches, decisions were made that were clearly contrary to Atlético's interests. "We can't focus on the referees," Antoine Griezmann said after the match, adding: "Sometimes we're not at our best, and we have to address that."

These are self-critical words from a player, the Frenchman, whose quality seems to have evaporated from his boots when, despite holding the record for goals in the history of the Red and Whites with 198, until the 1-0 against Botafogo he had not scored since last February. The goal that gave this Atlético the victory was no small feat, as thanks to it, the club earned 1.74 million euros, in addition to the amount already received for beating the Seattle Sounders and the almost 20 million he received for participating. Almost 23 million in total.

After 12 consecutive seasons qualifying for the Champions League and the first Club World Cup, Cholo has managed to elevate Atlético Madrid to another level from a sporting perspective. However, given the current financial stability, the club and the coach need to consider whether they should take a step further next season, as Cholo has already expressed, to avoid stagnating.

The Argentine coach still has two years left on his contract, but his status no longer commands the unanimous support of an increasingly demanding fan base. The club has no doubts about his stature or his abilities. In December 2011, when he arrived at the club, the red-and-white budget was four times smaller than that of Real Madrid or Barcelona, ​​the big LaLiga liners. Today, that gap has been cut in half. However, the Metropolitano fans want more.