Just three days from now, Atlético Madrid will open the 2025/26 LaLiga season against RCD Espanyol in Cornellà, and the club are preparing the final touches both on the training pitch and in the board room.
Read on to discover everything that has occurred in the last week, including more new signings, injury doubts, shock exits and more.
Transfer latest as “Jack” becomes number seven
Monday saw the official announcement of forward Giacomo Raspadori as Atlético’s seventh summer signing (nine if you count the loans of Juan Musso and Clément Lenglet
becoming permanent).
The man known as Jack has signed a contract until 2030, arriving from Napoli for a total package worth €26 million. The two-time Serie A champion is making his first career steps outside of Italy, the country with whom he won Euro 2020 and has already represented 40 times.
Whilst initially greeted with an air of uncertainty by colchoners online, it only took to know how the Napoli fans feel about his departure to understand what kind of a player we are receiving.
The account “lavozdelatleti_” on X.com compiled a thread of statements they received from fans of Raspadori’s previous club, including one that marked him as “the man of important goals”.
Mainly playing as a backup to the likes of Victor Osimhen and Romelu Lukaku over the past few campaigns, his role and knack for popping up with timely goals gives the feeling that Raspadori will take on Ángel Correa’s “super-sub” position.
According to Mundo Deportivo, Raspadori has been training with the attacking group of Julián Álvarez, Antoine Griezmann and Álex Baena (Alexander Sørloth has been absent due to a knock). This is furthering the idea that he has been brought in to score goals, rather than create them — the playmaking duties then could fall to Thiago Almada, who was initially thought to be Correa’s replacement.
Not done yet?
Despite reports from Marca on Tuesday that Atlético’s squad is closed (barring any departure), it appears Sporting Director Carlos Bucero isn’t quite finished with business just yet.
Very loose reports surrounding the interest the club has in Carlos Soler and Otávio circulated at the beginning of the week, but Thursday brought us something a lot more concrete.
Fabrizio Romano dropped the bombshell that discussions between Atleti and Juventus have begun over a transfer for winger Nico González. The Argentine just joined the Italian club on a permanent basis this summer after spending last season there on loan. That fee was a reported €28 million, so the Old Lady would likely be looking to profit on that.
González first made his name at Stuttgart before he earned a move to Serie A, where he shone at Fiorentina over the course of four seasons. A call up to the Argentina national team for the 2022 World Cup ended in heartbreak as he was forced to withdraw with an injury that paved the way for Ángel Correa to take his spot.
González though was in the squad for the two Copa America titles his country has won in recent years, playing a key role in the second half of the 2024 final, when he had to come off the bench to replace talisman Leo Messi.
At the time of writing, no more news has emerged other than that the clubs are “in talks”, but some have said that Atleti are pushing for the deal to be completed before the weekend.
Injury doubts for Espanyol match
We knew that the turnaround from playing the FIFA Club World Cup to starting the new domestic season was going to be a short and taxing one.
So it’s no surprise that some players have had some injury concerns in the lead up to the new campaign on Sunday.
Usual suspect José María Giménez hasn’t played a minute in pre-season as he is still suffering from an injury that he sustained in the CWC in the USA in June. The Uruguayan’s minutes were carefully managed last season to ensure he would be available for the big matches at the important moments. He’ll miss at least this weekend and could potentially be absent for the following couple of matches as well.
Another player we didn’t get to enjoy in the three friendlies was Pablo Barrios, who was rested for each match due to some discomfort. This week he has returned to training as normal, and he is expected to start against Espanyol.
Alongside him in midfield will be Johnny Cardoso, who himself has suffered from a slight knock this week. He’s the player in the squad who played the longest season of anyone, having taken part in the Gold Cup final for the US on July 7.
The one player who looks less likely to begin proceedings on the pitch in Cornellà is Alexander Sørloth, who was subject to “muscle overload” in the Newcastle match last Saturday. The striker is back training with the team, but will likely take a place on the bench Sunday night.
Abde ships off
In one of the more unexpected changes in the “filial” ranks of the club, forward Abde Raihani has left to join Sevilla FC’s B team, known as Sevilla Atlético.
The 21-year-old had been at Atleti since 2021 and even made an appearance for the first team — playing nine minutes in an away defeat to Deportivo Alavés in April 2024.
Perhaps the surprise is not that he has left; many have this summer (see Iturbe, Niño), but that he has gone to a direct rival in the same group of the same division with the same ambitions as Atlético Madrileño.
The two B teams finished just a point apart from each other and just four off the playoffs — a goal they’ll both share once more this season.
Whole team joins welcome night
As mentioned last week, Atlético Madrid are putting on a “welcome night” at the Riyadh Air Metropolitano to present the new signings from the men’s and women’s teams to the fans before the first home game.
However, a detail slightly different to last year is that the whole squad will be present, not just the new signings.
As well as the footballers on show, musical artist Dani Fernández will also perform at the Estadio Metropolitano. The singer is a well-known Atleti fan, joining a host of other Spanish artists such as Joaquin Sabina, Dani Martin and Leiva.
