With the last place in the group stage of the Champions League, Atlético reached the lowest point for the 11 years of Diego Simeone’s coaching mandate. Many have stated that “Cholism” died two evenings ago in Porto and that the Madrid club is at a historic crossroads.How to resolve the situation with the coach who literally built the club and lifted it into the company of the best in Europe? He wrote the most glorious era in the history of the club. But in the last year and a half, Atlético are no longer progressing, but regressing with Simeone who does not want to change and does not give up on a well-known philosophy that does not please a good part of the players and expensive investments.Simeone is the highest-paid coach in the world with an annual salary of 24,000,000 euros. Net. Which means that he costs the club close to 50,000,000 euros per year on a gross level. In a way, he deserved it because with great results in the last ten years, he multiplied the club’s income and brought them huge amounts of money. But now that the results are gone, the club has to think in a different direction.##NAJAVA_MECA_6778905##Although until recently it was speculated that the club’s management agreed on a contract extension with Cholo since his current contract lasts for another year and a half, now information is coming that the potential extension deal will not happen because there is a growing opinion that Atlético need a change of coach and the overall climate in the dressing room.Atletico will not fire Cholo this season regardless of the results. They will even maybe let him complete the next one. But they will not offer him a new contract even if he wins the trophy this season.The Spanish media write that relations between the management and the coach have cooled because Cholo believes that some moves have been made contrary to what he wanted. The last in the series is the club’s permission for the famous fitness coach “Professor” Ortega to go with the Uruguay national team to the World Cup. Ortega is Cholo’s most important collaborator after the departure of Mona Burgos (also cited as one of the reasons for Atlético’s downfall), known for his harsh methods towards players and Simeone hoped he would stay during the World Cup break to physically build the squad for the rest of the season.But before the epilogue with Simeone, some big names could leave the club. Atlético lost at least 30,000,000 euros due to relegation from Europe and will have to make up for that deficit in some other way. And selling players is the most realistic.Diego Simeone confirms he has no intention to leave Atletico Madrid: “It’s the hardest moment but I’m going to continue insisting on this club to get something we need, such as the Champions League”. ⚪️🔴 #Atleti Cholo’s current deal expires in June 2024. pic.twitter.com/IdqG7ugvpc— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) October 27, 2022 The Spanish media write that the Madrid club will listen to offers for some of its stars already in January.The first in line is Joao Felix, who was paid 127,000,000 euros but never lived up to expectations at Atlético. Or he didn’t fit into Simeone’s vision of football. Manchester United wanted him, who offered 125,000,000 euros this summer, as well as Bayern, but Atletico vetoed his departure. A few months later in Madrid, they thought they made a mistake and are ready to negotiate the sale of the Portuguese, who is clearly not satisfied.In addition to Joao Felix – Yannick Carrasco, Rodrigo De Paul and Thomas Lemar are also for sale in case of good offers. Apart from the Belgian, the remaining two also did not justify the invested money and great trust. Also, on the transfer list is the defender Mario Hermoso, who plays quite poorly, but it is unlikely that the club will receive a good offer for him.##EDITORS_CHOICE##Much will depend on the World Cup in Qatar. If he continues with his current performances in the Argentina national team, De Paul could achieve a good price in the market and be the first ‘victim’ in the upcoming January transfer window. The same goes for Carrasco, who last year was almost irreplaceable under Cholo, but this season he starts half the games as a starter, and half comes off the bench…Atletico suffered the most painful blow in the last ten years and some cuts will have to be made.
