The 2014/15 La Liga season may still be six weeks away, but the transfer market is active with individual squads beginning to take shape. A lucrative spending spree has inundated Spain’s coveted league with World Cup golden boot winner James Rodriguez, World Cup champion Toni Kroos and Luis Suarez, top goal scorer in the Premier League, moving to Spain for deals that total in excess of $280 million.
Atlético Madrid had an unbelievably successful campaign last time round, both in La Liga and the Champions League. Although they won the league title on the final day of the season last spring, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona have combined to capture nine of the last 10 and 10 of the last 12 La Liga crowns. Real Madrid also won the Champions League title with a 4-1 victory over the Spanish underdogs, keen not to miss out on a trophy in 2014. With the recent addition of three of the world’s top players, the richest have gotten richer and Atlético don't appear to be responding just yet.
The clubs current financial position dictates that they need to sell players, a process that will exist for the foreseeable future as they aim to pay off huge debts. Financially speaking, Spanish rivals Real Madrid and Bareclona are in a much more comfortable position which has been reflected in their multi million pound signings. In fact, Real Madrid have been named the richest sports franchise by Forbes, so it is unsurprising that they have flashed the cash during this transfer window. Such extravegent spending will no doubt intimidate the lower status clubs.
Considering Atlético’s transfer window so far, it appears to be less exciting than their rivals which poses the question of have they done enough to compete against even stronger Barcelona and Real Madrid sides to retain the title? They have lost three first-choice players so far and a number of back up options from the bench have also departed.
Jose Mourinho has benefited most with Thibaut Courtois finally ending his loan spell and Diego Costa and Filipe Luis joining Chelsea in big money moves. Whilst this helps Atlético pay off their debts, it strengthens a team that they could potentially face in the Champions League.
One of manager Diego Simeone’s strengths is his ability to transform and improve his players- both physically and mentally. We saw him do this with Costa, Simeone developed him into a frist-choice player for both club and country. He is currently in a transfer battle with Monaco for Chelsea striker Fernando Torres having made a fresh approach to take him back to his boyhood club. Torres’ career has failed to take off since his £50m move from Liverpool three and a half years ago so a move to Atlético Madrid could see him improve as a player. Chelsea want around £20m and they have been told they must raise their price and match his contract, with Torres in no rush to leave. Atlético most likely will not give up on their chase for Torres after being unsuccessful in chasing Alvardo Negredo and Romelu Lukaku.
Before Atlético won La Liga the gap between the world’s two richest football clubs (Barcelona and Real Madrid) and other teams in the league seemed substantial. A club other than them winning La Liga seemed to close the gap temporarily- Rojiblancos proved they could compete with the best in the league and come out on top. However, Barcelona and Madrid are proving the gap still exists as they are signing big (and expensive) players to strengthen their sides and bring back the title.
The financial- and competitive- imbalance in La Liga stems from the way the league has allowed TV contracts to be negotiated. Currently, teams are allowed to negotiate their own broadcast deals independently. So, while Barcelona and Real Madrid each earn more than $182 million from TV, Atlético, who have the third-richest deal, get a third of the that and teams lower down in the league get much less. Adding jersey deals into the equation, netting Barcelona and Real Madrid more than $80 million each during the season, it becomes impossible for the rest of the league to compete financially with the big top two.
There is still time for Diego Simeone to strengthen his team as the transfer window continues but as it stands the teams of the big top two in La Liga seem much stronger. If Atlético don't bring in a striker to replace Diego Costa then retaining their La Liga title may seem impossible as they will be facing world class teams. Real Madrid and Barcelona seem untouchable as they have the financial means behind them to bring in top players. Nevertheless, Rojiblancos fans will never forget their teams incredible performance last season and to their credit Atlético did beat the Spanish giants last time round, what's to say they cant do it again?