The 380th and final match of LaLiga’s 2025/26 season saw Atlético de Madrid suffer a humiliating defeat to Villarreal at La Cerámica.
Though the Colchoneros needed only a draw to secure a podium finish, Atlético slumped to a horrible 5-1 defeat in Vila-real to finish outside of LaLiga’s top three for the second time in three years. In top scorer Antoine Griezmann’s final game for the club, Atleti fell behind after Dani Parejo converted a dubiously-awarded penalty, and Villarreal never looked back.
Ayoze Pérez scored twice, Georges Mikautadze and Pape Gueye scored too in a disastrous showing for Diego Simeone’s men. Marc Pubill’s first goal for the club served as the only consolation.
Here are the takeaways as Atleti end the season with a thud, and in fourth place.
This is the real “haramball”
For the first time in Cholo Simeone’s storied tenure as Atlético de Madrid head coach, his side shipped five goals in a match. I guess the 800th time is the charm.
Not since September 2011 had Atlético been hit for five in LaLiga, but that’s exactly what Villarreal did to this sorry-ass defense on Sunday. When Pérez’s second goal rippled past the hapless Juan Musso, it confirmed this Atlético “back line” as the worst of this era: Atleti’s 44 goals conceded are the most in any of Simeone’s 14 full seasons on the touchline.
How ironic that Simeone’s defense this year featured three players — Pubill, Marcos Llorente and Robin Le Normand — who are likely to be confirmed as part of Spain’s FIFA World Cup squad on Monday. This indisciplined group got its act together long enough to reach a Copa del Rey final and a Champions League semifinal, but it lacked the focus and consistency to compete for 38 rounds in LaLiga. It is my pleasure not to have to watch them again.
Apollo Sports Capital is not likely to invest much more in the sporting side this summer; LaLiga’s financial controls prevent large capital injections the likes of which we’ve seen at Manchester City and Paris Saint-Germain anyway, and the new majority shareholders’ focus is on finishing the Ciudad del Deporte, which will open up new revenue streams in years ahead. With whatever financial muscle it has, Atleti must get serious about rejuvenating a defense that shows promise in the middle with Pubill and Dávid Hancko but suffers from a severe lack of depth and quality.
Julián Alvarez’s future
He didn’t play a part in Sunday night’s season finale — in fact, he didn’t play a single minute in LaLiga after March 22. But the specter of Julián Alvarez loomed large over proceedings at La Cerámica, and it will continue to do so until a definitive decision about his future is taken.
Alvarez’s season ends with a team-high 20 goals scored and a team-best nine goals assisted in 49 games played. La Araña endured a scarcely-believable run of 19 games without an open-play goal in the league this season, though his 10 goals in the UEFA Champions League propelled Atlético to the semifinals of that competition for the first time in nine years. Though he scored only once in the Copa del Rey before the final, his performance at La Cartuja on April 18 is one of his best in Atleti’s colors; he scored the equalizing goal but missed his penalty in the shootout, which I don’t doubt has affected him mentally.
Alvarez’s inconsistent campaign unfolded against the backdrop of tense renewal talks and amid the changes to Atleti’s ownership structure. Even though Alvarez’s contract runs until 2030, it is no secret that his agent has been pushing to make him the team’s highest earner and pocket a hefty commission along the way. The strain between the club and Alvarez’s entourage led by the agent Hidalgo — whose only other client is Grêmio full-back Cristian Pavón — has been evident all season, as a ceaseless string of leaks has tied Alvarez with a move to Arsenal, Paris Saint-Germain or (most obnoxiously) FC Barcelona.
In principle, there should be nothing to discuss regarding Alvarez’s future. Atlético reportedly are planning to relaunch its iconic Spider-Man shirt this summer to capitalize on his popularity as the club’s flagship player. He has four years remaining on his deal and a €500 million release clause within Spain. And any new contract can’t be registered with LaLiga anyway until the new Squad Cost Limits are known, and until other salaries — like Griezmann, Jan Oblak and Josema Giménez — are reduced or come off the books entirely.
“These rumors often turn into a snowball of lies,” Alvarez said last month. “I don’t waste energy on these rumors, and I’d rather save that energy to help the team.”
And yet, even Alvarez’s coach thinks the player has a decision to make.
“That’s not a question for me, it’s a question for Julián,” Simeone said post-match on Sunday, when Movistar asked him about his star striker’s future. “Julián is a grown man. I imagine he’s made his decision already.”
Recent chatter claims Alvarez’s relationship with Simeone is not as strong as it once was. Marcos Llorente gave an interview to Cadena COPE this week where he confessed that he wasn’t sure if Alvarez would stay or go. Mateu Alemany has been more forceful whenever asked about the player’s future, pointing to the length of his contract and his reluctance to sell key players. But the disconnect behind the scenes is obvious, and it is affecting Atlético’s entire sporting project.
It all adds up to Alvarez facing the deciding moment of his club career. He has to make a choice similar to the one Griezmann faced many years ago: soldier on as Atlético’s top player, or move to his third club in four seasons, looking for who knows what (ostensibly trophies)? We know what his agent wants. But it’s not as clear what he wants. And it’s also not clear if Atleti, in unanimity, want to keep him amid all this trouble with his agent, though selling him in the first months of Apollo’s ownership would project immediate institutional weakness and a willingness to sell its best players if the price is somewhere in the region of “right.”
Whether Alvarez stays or goes is an inflection point in the club’s trajectory and history. Don’t make the mistake of blithely dismissing it.
Grading the season
This defeat is a woeful way to end what has been a memorable season.
Atlético’s run to the Copa del Rey final was inspiring, as the Rojiblancos eliminated Real Betis (which will play UCL football next year) and eventual Spanish champions Barcelona on their way to the final. Griezmann was brilliant in the competition, but he was starting to run out of gas when the final arrived, and Atleti succumbed to a shocking penalty shootout defeat against Real Sociedad in Seville.
Atleti overachieved amid modest hopes in the Champions League, blitzing Club Brugge and Tottenham Hotspur in the first two knockout rounds before eliminating Barcelona again. Simeone’s men ran Arsenal close in the semifinal and might have won that tie had they finished their chances in the first leg. There also was a Supercopa semifinal loss to Real Madrid that no one will remember or care about.
As for the league campaign…well, Koke said it best.
“The league season was a disaster,” the captain told Movistar. “We have to be much higher in the table.”
The fourth-place finish is unmistakably conditioned by Simeone’s choice to deprioritize the league as the cup competitions intensified. But this is below even the club’s expectation of a podium finish. Pound-for-pound, Atleti cannot finish behind Villarreal — just like it should not have finished behind Girona in 2024.
Two years ago, Atleti responded to widespread squad decay by enacting a plan to rebuild two-thirds of Simeone’s team. The results of that rebuild have been mixed.
Atleti were more competitive in 2025 and 2026 than it had been at any point since the 2021 Liga win. On the cup campaigns alone, the team exceeded expectations and should have won the Copa del Rey.
But it’s hard to be as forgiving in LaLiga because in some aspects, Atleti are getting worse. Last season, the Rojiblancos finished 12 points behind Barcelona; the gap swelled to 25 points this year. As written, this is the worst defense Simeone has ever had by the numbers, and his Atleti side have never performed this badly away from home.
I’m giving this season a B-minus, and I’m curious to see what our readers say in the comments.
