12 months ago next week, Atletico Madrid secured the La Liga title after a nerve-shredding 2-1 victory over Rayo Vallecano.
The fact that it’s taken them until May 11th to secure Champions League qualification this time around highlights just how far Los Colchoneros have fallen in the space of a year, from by far the best team in Spain to one glancing nervously over their shoulder, missing out on a top-four place for the first time in a decade a very real possibility.
Diego Simeone can rest that little bit easier from here on in, however. Not that the thought of the Atletico boss sinking his face into a memory foam pillow is an easy picture to conjure up. ‘Sleep is for the week’ indeed.
Atletico Madrid seal Champions League qualification
A hard-fought 2-0 win away at relegation-threatened Elche on Wednesday night means Atletico have qualified for the Champions League group-stages for the tenth season in a row, by virtue of a superior head-to-head record over fifth-place Real Betis.
And do not underestimate the importance of Champions League football to Atletico Madrid. Finishing outside the top four would have been potentially ruinous for a club lumbered with one of the most immense wage bills in European football.
According to Inside World Football, Atletico’s debt soared to nearly one billion euros after the pandemic-hit 2019/20 campaign. Missing out on a place in the Promised Land – the riches on offer – would have triggered a clause in Simeone’s contract, forcing Atleti to re-negotiate a deal with their talismanic head coach on much lower terms (Cadena Cope).
Aston Villa want Geoffrey Kondogbia
And that’s without mentioning the potential impact on a talented, yet expensively-assembled and remunerated squad. Renan Lodi, Joao Felix, Mario Hermoso, Jan Oblak and more already have plenty of Premier League suitors.
Aston Villa boss Steven Gerrard, meanwhile, scouted Geoffrey Kondogbia during the Champions League quarter-final defeat to Manchester City (Birmingham Mail).
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Taking home around £110,000-a-week at the Wanda Metropolitano, the colossal France international is one of Atletico’s highest earners.
But with a seat at Europe’s top table reserved, once again, for Simeone and co, keeping hold of Kondogbia has just become that little bit easier.
“When we arrived (in 2021) the club asked us (to qualify for) four or five Champions Leagues in a row,” Simeone tells El Espanyol.
“(Now, it’s) ten. They will be happy.”
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