Diego Simeone's once untouchable reign at Atletico Madrid faces its biggest crisis as the club great starts his 14th season amid mounting pressure after four trophy-less campaigns and a growing disconnect between his measured ambitions and the board's aims.
The Argentine transformed Atletico from a lowly, struggling team in the south side of the Spanish capital into a European powerhouse, reaching two Champions League finals in three years with a relentless, physically imposing defensive style that left richer clubs with stellar squads struggling to cope.
However, since winning their 11th LaLiga title in 2021, Simeone has failed to deliver silverware while preaching that Atletico's main objective is not winning titles but finishing in the top three in LaLiga, claiming they cannot compete financially with Barcelona and Real Madrid.
That discourse has become a tough pill to swallow for fans and pundits as Atletico keep spending big money every season.
They bought Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth, Robin Le Normand and Conor Gallagher in deals reaching nearly 200 million euros ($232.54 million) last year followed by Alex Baena, David Hancko, Johnny Cardozo and Thiago Almada for over 150 million this term.
Those signings have joined a squad of established players like Antoine Griezmann, Nahuel Molina, Jan Oblak, Marcos Alonso, Jose Maria Gimenez and Koke, making Simeone’s modest objectives more and more disconnected from reality.
Club owner Miguel Angel Gil Marin last week delivered a message that directly contradicts Simeone's cautious approach.
"We firmly believe that we are building a squad to dream big. We are ambitious, we take risks, we have brought in and will continue to bring in new partners willing to invest capital, which is necessary to continue growing in sporting, social and infrastructure terms," he said.
Atletico's disappointing early group stage exit at the highly-profitable Club World Cup provided the latest setback, with a humiliating 4-0 defeat by Paris St Germain exposing familiar weaknesses including frail defending against wide players and lack of creativity in the final third.
Critics and fans are questioning whether Europe's highest-paid manager can still inspire a squad that has stagnated in both domestic and European competition, with mounting challenges ahead to reclaim their status as contenders on all fronts.
Atletico start their LaLiga challenge at Espanyol on August 17.
