After their worst La Liga finish in the last five years, Atletico Madrid are hoping to bounce back in their 2024/25 season with the help of a few new signings.

Last season, Atletico Madrid were a long way off from their 2020/21 La Liga-winning campaign. The club finished fourth in the Spanish league, got knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals, and fell in the semi-finals in both the Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup.

Diego Simeone’s side has a renewed focus heading into the 2024/25 season, though, and most of it comes down to their new players. Julian Alvarez, Alexander Sorloth, and Robin Le Normand will look to help Los Colchoneros rediscover their winning ways and bring the club back to the top of La Liga.

Here’s 90min’s season preview of Atletico Madrid’s 2024/25 campaign.

Atletico Madrid’s only major success in the last five seasons came in 2021 when they won La Liga. Otherwise, Diego Simeone’s squad has struggled to top Real Madrid and Barcelona, especially last season when they only managed a fourth place finish, their worst in recent years.

Los Colchoneros have struggled in the Champions League as well, failing to make a single semi-final in their last five European campaigns.

Quite a bit of jersey swapping went on at Atletico Madrid to satisfy their new squad. After the departure of Alvaro Morata, Julian Alvarez will now wear the number 19 jersey. Alexander Sorloth opted for the number 9, left vacant by Memphis Depay.

Pablo Barrios switched from 24 to 8, leaving Robin Le Normand free to take the 24 shirt.

Rodrigo Riquelme was the owner of the number 25, but he will now wear 17 since Javi Galan now has the number 22 jersey. Giuliano Simeone claimed the new 25 shirt.

Carlos Martin took Stefan Savic’s 15 shirt after the defender transferred to Fenerbahce.

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

In

Out

Atletico Madrid’s 2024/25 home and away kits feature the return of the club’s 1947 crest to celebrate when Los Colchoneros won the Double in their 1995/96 campaign. The home kit also includes pinstripes that take up the entire jersey, as well as a blue collar.

The 2024/25 away kit is ocean blue with red accents to pay homage to the Neptuno fountain where fans celebrate the club’s biggest triumphs.

Home kit

Away kit

Third kit

Atletico Madrid have yet to officially release their 2024/25 third kit.

It is usually a pretty safe bet to say Antoine Griezmann will be Atletico Madrid’s top goalscorer. The Frenchman led the team last year with 16 goals in La Liga, earning him a sixth place finish in the Pichichi race. The 33-year-old also scored eight more goals across all competitions, bringing his total up to 24.

Griezmann will have plenty of help up top this season, though, for the first time in a long time. Alexander Sorloth, who scored the second most goals (23) in La Liga last season for Villarreal, made the move to Diego Simeone’s side this summer, and is expected to produce similar numbers in the 2024/25 season.

Plus, Julian Alvarez’s arrival promises Atletico Madrid’s most dynamic attack in years. The former Manchester City player just helped Argentina win the Copa America back in July, and has the quality in the final third to deliver a double-digit goal total in La Liga alone.

Atletico Madrid will certainly improve on their disappointing fourth place finish last season. With three key new signings, it is hard to imagine Simeone’s side allowing another mid-tier club to pass them in the standings.

Then, the question becomes: can they best Barcelona and Real Madrid? Perhaps on the pitch, sure; after all, Atletico Madrid were the only team to defeat Los Blancos in the 2023/24 La Liga season. Yet they have struggled in recent years to achieve the level of consistency needed to collect three points week in and week out.

Real Madrid are the clear favorites to win La Liga after signing Kylian Mbappe, and Barcelona have a proven squad capable of topping the Spanish league, leaving Atletico Madrid destined to finish behind both.

Atletico Madrid 2024/25 La Liga prediction – 3rd