Football Season Guide

Atlético Madrid's 2025/26 campaign relied heavily on cup competitions for excitement, meeting the objective of Champions League qualification in the league but reaching the final of the Copa del Rey and the semi-final of the Champions League, although the wait for a trophy went on after five years without silverware. This summer has been one of elevating the quality, while replacing the outgoing club legend Antoine Griezmann. Kang-In Lee is the chosen one after several years impressing in fits and starts at PSG, returning to the league where he made his name with Valencia and Mallorca but now at a much more high-profile club. Elsewhere, Alejandro Grimaldo and Morten Hjulmand also strengthen the squad elsewhere. Grimaldo's arrival in particular is interesting, replacing an unconvincing Matteo Ruggeri, but offering a flexibility to switch to a back three rather than a back four. The club faces uncertainty in attack, where star striker Julian Alvarez requested a move away which never came to fruition, but the real weakness lies in the team's away form. Atleti ranked seventh for points on the road in La Liga last season, losing the same number of away matches as relegated Girona. Last season's start was disappointing and built to end stronger, and Diego Simeone will want to start better this year and capitalise on two home games to start the season amid a difficult fixture list to start the campaign. That task hasn't been made any easier by Atlético having more players involved in the World Cup final than any other club, meaning that they didn't return to training until mid-August.