Diego Simeone’s legendary time at Atletico Madrid may be coming to an end due to a change at ownership level.
Simeone has spent the past weeks clashing with new sporting director Mateu Alemany who was installed new majority owners, American investors Apollo Sports Capital.
Atleti are trophyless since 2021, and big investments like Joao Felix and Julian Alvarez continue to flop under Simone’s guidance, only increasing speculation over his future.
Now the well-sourced Patrick Berger of Sky Germany claims this summer the talk could for once be for real.
Discussing Bayern Munich’s Leon Goretkza who was chased by Atleti, he said: “If Leon Goretzka were to decide in the summer to join Atlético, he might be working under a different coach, because the end of an era is actually possible.
“Every summer there are rumours that Diego Simeone’s time could be coming to an end. However, the word on the street is that this summer it could really happen at the Wanda Metropolitano.
“First, it’s important to explain that Atlético Madrid now has new majority owners. The club is now 55% owned by a U.S. investment company, Apollo Sports Capital.
“They are currently taking a close look at everything and generally stand for a fresh start and new structures. Mateu Alemany, the sporting director who came from Barcelona, represents this new direction.”
He explained: “Atlético Madrid is also said not to have the best relationship with Diego Simeone anymore, and it’s true that preparations are already being made behind the scenes in case a separation does occur.
“Discussions about a successor are already underway. One candidate is Marcelino. Alemany really rates Marcelino highly. There is said to have already been initial contact with the coach’s camp. And what makes him particularly interesting is that he will actually be without a contract in the summer, as his deal with Villarreal expires.
“A second candidate is Andoni Iraola from Bournemouth. He has been doing a very solid job in the Premier League for three years now and is just 43 years old.
“And just like Marcelino, his contract would also expire in the summer. So, there are two very interesting ‘shadow coaches’ behind Diego Simeone.”
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