The phone has started ringing about Ayoze Pérez again, and this time the name on the line is Granada. Atlético Madrileño are listening politely and promising nothing.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at Atlético Madrileño hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Pablo Pérez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Jano Monserrate has written the date down.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
57 points from position 6. The title is somebody else’s business and the drop is somebody else’s problem; what is left is the argument about passports.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafa Llorente was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jorge Castillo will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Adrián Corral and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jorge Rajado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Adrián Corral was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Javi Morcillo’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Atlético Madrileño needing him to play as if none of it matters.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Atlético Madrileño would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
In brief
The dugoutJavi Morcillo asks for a word with the manager
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Koke will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Rafa Llorente. 1‑0 against Antequera, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
12 shots, and a count that reads like a good afternoon until you check the other column. Strikers survive weeks like this on the understanding that the chances keep arriving; the day they stop is the day it becomes a problem.
In brief
The dugoutCarlos Giménez asks for a word with the manager
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 25. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alejandro Mestanza has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Pablo Pérez. 1‑0 against Mirandés, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
16 defensive actions and a clean sheet at the end of them. A defender's afternoon can only be told by what did not happen, which is why nobody makes a highlights package out of one and every manager in the division would take it.
Nothing is announced when this happens and everybody knows. He is a bigger part of the plan at Atlético Madrileño than he was a month ago, and the training ground worked that out before the team sheet said so.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Rafa Llorente and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jano Monserrate trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Mirandés next, and one man in the Atlético Madrileño dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Atlético Madrileño. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
3 months left, and both sides know what that means: every week without a signature, the fee Atlético Madrileño could ask drops and the wages Jorge Rajado can ask rise.
Position 6, 47 points, and a run-in that decides whether next season has Thursday nights in it. Nobody is calling it a race yet, which is what people say during one.
0‑3 to Huesca, and it was every bit as bad as the number suggests. There are defeats you argue about and defeats you apologise for; this was the second kind.
8 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The chances are being made and something is happening between the making and the finishing. 3 matches now, and the anxiety in the ground arrives a little earlier every week.
Successful dribbles: 17. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
An error at the back is a moment; an error in goal is a goal. Horaţiu Moldovan knows it, the crowd knew it instantly, and there was nobody behind him to make it anything else.
7 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Adrián Corral and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Javier Boñar has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
6 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Adrián Corral and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad6 Mar 2028
A place in the month's best eleven for Jorge Rajado
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Jorge Rajado has come out of that comparison in the side, and Atlético Madrileño have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luis López after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 2‑2 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Jano Monserrate has done the arithmetic and does not like the answer. Nothing corrodes a squad faster, and no club has ever solved it by explaining the wage structure to a footballer.
Jano Monserrate had done his part in building a 2-goal cushion. What happened after that was collective, and Juventud Torremolinos were allowed back into a match that had been finished with.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Jorge Rajado will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I did not sign to watch. Nobody does.” The oldest complaint in the game, and Atlético Madrileño will have to answer it with minutes or with a move.
The dugout7 Feb 2028
The manager’s verdict
“I am frustrated, honestly. We did enough to win and we did not win.” Luis López was not hiding it after 2‑2, and nobody in the Atlético Madrileño dressing room was either.
Position 3, 41 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
5 without a win is the sort of run that changes how a town talks about its club, and Algeciras were the afternoon it stopped. Nothing is fixed by one result and everything feels different by one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Jano Monserrate trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
Aleksa Purić and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 16 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Eldense held the lead for 4 minutes, which is not long enough to enjoy it. Atlético Madrileño answered before the celebration had properly finished, and the shape of the afternoon changed with it.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Ilias Kostis and Atlético Madrileño agree another 3 years.
Ilias Kostis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Jorge Castillo is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Position 2, 35 points, and the result everyone checks first is now theirs. The word is still not being said around the ground, which is how you know everyone is thinking it.
There are footballers who have a good season and footballers a season is remembered for, and the second kind get their names read out in a hall in the summer. Atlético Madrileño will be quietly delighted and privately nervous.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlético Madrileño can pretend not to have heard.
Ilias Kostis was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The phone has started ringing about Iker Luque again, and this time the name on the line is Algeciras. Atlético Madrileño are listening politely and promising nothing.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
SquadA place in the month's best eleven for Pablo Pérez
Player ratingsNobody on the pitch touched Aleksa Purić
Successful dribbles: 27. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Player ratings27 Dec 2027
Up for the corner, and Javi Serrano delivers — 7.74
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Javi Serrano scored, was marked 7.74, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Diego Bri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
8 without defeat on their own grass. The pitch has not changed; the crowd has — louder earlier, and quicker to sense when the opposition would rather be somewhere else.
Juan Musso was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Marked 7.97. There is a kind of forward whose value only shows up when you count what he was involved in rather than what he finished, and this is the day that argument makes itself.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 23-year-old it feels ownership of. Alejandro Mestanza has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Diego Bri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Juan Musso is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
The manager has re-ordered his thinking and Horaţiu Moldovan has come out of it lower. He will be told it is temporary, and the players who have heard that before will avoid his eye.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The players deserve the credit. My job was easy today.” It was not, and everybody in the room knew it; after 1‑0, Luis López could afford to be generous.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlético Madrileño has been clear about where Carlos Giménez stands, which is more than many ever get.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Jorge Rajado has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Juan Musso was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Diego Bri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 16 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
The crowd waited for a goal that never came. Marbella defended in numbers and left with what they came for, and the two sides could be playing still without troubling a scorer.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ilias Kostis and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Javi Serrano is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
Juan Musso was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Successful dribbles: 19. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
They paid twice — for the ticket and for the journey — and got a 2-1 win for it. Away support is the truest kind precisely because nothing about it is convenient.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jorge Castillo was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Atlético Madrileño know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Juan Musso has his answer from Atlético Madrileño; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Not a new contract, not a new number: a new place in the manager’s thinking, which is the only promotion in football that actually matters. Jano Monserrate has moved up it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Atlético Madrileño. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
Atlético Madrileño spent the window trying to move Iker Luque on and nobody came. He trains with a squad that has already told him he is not part of it, and both sides now wait for the next one.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Diego Bri was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Aleksa Purić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. David Espinosa is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Horaţiu Moldovan trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
Another week, another link, another denial nobody quite believes. Atlético Madrileño know the market decides these things, not the back pages — but the back pages are louder.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Diego Bri and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Juan Musso and a teammate went at it, and not about football. Training grounds are small places and a long season makes them smaller.
Squad9 Aug 2027
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
In brief
The dugoutDiego Bri asks for a word with the manager
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Diego Bri is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“This is not anger. I have thought about it for months, and nothing that has happened lately changed my mind.” The request is on a desk at Atlético Madrileño, and it is not being withdrawn.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Squad5 Jul 2027
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
He asked about his future and was given an answer with minutes in it. The manager has now made a promise in a building where promises are remembered, and the clock on it has started.
“I have nothing bad to say about this place. I just need to be somewhere else.” It is in writing now, which changes what Atlético Madrileño can pretend not to have heard.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rayane Belaid is 22, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Salvi Esquivel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
An individual honour is a strange thing in a team game, and the best of them are never argued with. He has had the sort of year that ends with his name being read out, and Atlético Madrileño have had the benefit of it.
Squad24 May 2027
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Adrián Corral was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The shape wanted a different profile against this opponent, which is a real football answer and no comfort at all to the man it is about. He did nothing wrong and he did not play.
Position 9 on 50 points. Every season is a story and this is the last line of it, and now the club has three months to decide what the next one is about.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Rayane Belaid has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.21 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Warm-up bib, ninety minutes of watching, and a handshake at the end that fooled nobody. Big matches tell you who a manager trusts; this one told Salvi Esquivel.
The dugout17 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We controlled it. There were spells I did not like and we will look at them, but the group showed me something.” Luis López, on a 2‑1 win that he was already picking apart on the walk to the press room.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
5 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luis López after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Sabadell? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
In brief
Player ratingsThe one thing Arnau Ortiz could not do
The dugoutIlias Kostis asks for a word with the manager
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marcos Parriego will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
4 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Salvi Esquivel has his answer from Atlético Madrileño; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
0‑1 to Betis Deportivo, and no complaints worth printing. The performance asked for nothing more than it got.
The dugout3 May 2027
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Luis López to a room that had heard them before.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Squad3 May 2027
A place in the month's best eleven for Javi Serrano
Four or five weekends of consistency, judged against everybody in the division doing his job. Javi Serrano has come out of that comparison in the side, and Atlético Madrileño have had the benefit of every one of those afternoons.
7.95, 1 on the scoresheet, and the specific comedy of a back-four player celebrating like somebody who does this every week. He does not, and that is exactly why the ground reacted the way it did.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
The hardest thing about being 20 in a senior side is that nobody makes allowances. Jorge Rajado did not need any: 8.17, and he looked the most comfortable man on the pitch.
Squad12 Apr 2027
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
At 20 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Javi Morcillo and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
Fee agreed, terms agreed, medical booked. Marcos Parriego will be somebody else’s player by the weekend, and around Atlético Madrileño the goodbyes have quietly begun.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Successful dribbles: 16. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
The dugout5 Apr 2027
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 1‑2 Luis López left the room before anybody could ask which.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Salvi Esquivel is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Carlos Giménez trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Gerónimo Spina has written the date down.
Eldense will want this one forgotten quickly: 5‑1, every duel lost, and a long ride home. Atlético Madrileño were ruthless in the way good sides are ruthless.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 22 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
6 goals in one match, Alejandro Mestanza on the scoresheet, and a scoreline that will look like a misprint. Neutrals could not have asked more of Atlético Madrileño and Eldense.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 22-year-old it feels ownership of. Alejandro Mestanza has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Marked 8.11 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He used to wear the other shirt. On Saturday he plays against Eldense in this one, and whatever he says this week about it being just another game will be untrue.
A year in and the city has not opened up, the language has not come, and lunch is eaten alone more often than anybody at Atlético Madrileño would admit. It shows on Saturdays.
Numbers do not stay secret in a dressing room. He is not asking for more than he is worth; he is asking why somebody beside him is worth more, and Atlético Madrileño have no good answer.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ilias Kostis and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Marked 8.42 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Hércules scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
Successful dribbles: 14. There is a particular sort of despair on a full-back's face by the seventieth minute, and it was on display.
The dugout1 Mar 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Luis López chose the glass-half-full version of 2‑2; the supporters left with the other one.
“I was told straight, and I would rather have it straight.” The manager at Atlético Madrileño has been clear about where Dani Martínez stands, which is more than many ever get.
Terms are settled between the clubs and the rest is paperwork and a photograph. Around Atlético Madrileño they have already started talking about him in the past tense.
Aleksa Purić was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
At 22 he is being sung about by people twice his age, which is an affection a signing has to earn over years and a local kid gets for turning up. It is also the hardest thing in football to live up to.
Marked 8.27 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
Player ratings15 Feb 2027
Javi Serrano was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.18. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
“I respect the manager and I am not going to sit here and pretend I am happy.” It is the most common sentence in football and it has never once been the end of a story.
Every paper's favourite story and every manager's least. What happened is being dealt with internally, which is the phrase clubs use when they would rather nobody asked again.
Squad1 Feb 2027
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
He is 21 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Jano Monserrate and Atlético Madrileño agree another 5 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
The clubs have agreed terms, and what remains is formality: a medical, a photograph, a signature. Nobody at Atlético Madrileño is pretending he will be back in the shirt.
Successful dribbles: 23. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Rafa Llorente and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
There is a particular warmth a ground reserves for a 21-year-old it feels ownership of. Salvi Esquivel has it now, and everything he does for the rest of his time here will be measured against the goodwill he was handed for free.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Marked 8.22. Players have careers without a single afternoon like this in them, and he has just had one in front of everybody at Atlético Madrileño.
Player ratings18 Jan 2027
Arnau Ortiz was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.20. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Ilias Kostis and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
Aleksa Purić and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Marked 8.22 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The board was up, the win was priced in, and then Sabadell scored. There is no worse minute to concede in and the ground emptied in the silence that follows one.
1‑1, and both dressing rooms will call it two points lost. A draw that asked plenty of questions and answered none of them.
The dugout11 Jan 2027
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Luis López chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
The kind of year that ends with a name being read out in a hall. Atlético Madrileño had the benefit of it every week and now have the problem of everybody else knowing.
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Salvi Esquivel is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luis López after the 0‑0 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at Atlético Madrileño, and both men came out saying it was fine.
Sabadell next, and one man in the Atlético Madrileño dressing room knows their training ground better than his own. The reception will tell him what they thought of him.
Not a run of form — an actual step up, held for months. At 21 he is doing things at this level he could not do at the start of the season, and the coaching staff will tell you exactly which of them.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
A 2‑0 win over Sevilla Atlético, earned rather than given, and the sort of afternoon that sends everyone home talking about next week instead of this one.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: Arnau Ortiz. 2‑0 against Alcorcón, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Player ratings28 Dec 2026
Adrián Corral was on a different afternoon to everybody else
8.25. There are performances a supporter describes to somebody who was not there and cannot quite convey; this was one, and the number does not help either.
7 without a win now, and the ground has developed the special quiet of a crowd that expects the worst. One scrappy 1-0 would cure most of it; that is the maddening part.
Juventud Torremolinos left with the points after a 0‑2 defeat that will take some explaining on the terraces.
Squad21 Dec 2026
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
The door stayed shut a long time after the final whistle. What was said in there is between them; whether it worked is between them and Saturday.
The dugout21 Dec 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑2 defeat, delivered by Luis López to a room that had heard them before.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Rafa Llorente’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Atlético Madrileño needing him to play as if none of it matters.
“Thirty minutes, door closed, everything said. We shook hands after.” Whatever was in the room stayed in the room, and Salvi Esquivel trained the next morning like a man with less to carry.
“The easiest signature of my career.” Aleksa Purić and Atlético Madrileño agree another 4 years, and the manager can plan around him rather than about him.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
“It is not the end of the world and it is not good enough. Both of those are true.” The manager, after a 0‑0 draw, said the honest thing and then went to say it again inside.
“I have done everything asked of me in training and it has not changed a thing on a Saturday.” The most familiar complaint in football, and one Atlético Madrileño will have to answer with minutes or with a transfer.
In brief
The dugoutThe manager makes an example of Iker Luque
“Some decisions take a long time. This one took ten minutes, and most of that was finding a pen.” Rafa Llorente and Atlético Madrileño agree another 3 years.
Successful dribbles: 19. There was always a defender in front of him and there was never a defender in front of him for long.
Squad7 Dec 2026
Aleksa Purić falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“The supporters are entitled to be angry. So am I. We will put it right.” 1‑2, a manager saying the necessary things, and a dressing room that heard a different version of them.
4 matches now without a victory, and the excuses have worn thinner than the patience. Somebody at Atlético Madrileño has to find a result from somewhere.
Successful dribbles: 21. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout30 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Luis López chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
Rafa Llorente was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at Atlético Madrileño. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“There are things I liked and things we will be doing on Tuesday until they are right.” 1‑1, and a manager who had already decided what Tuesday looked like.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Dani Martínez was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Rayane Belaid, 21, plays like he has been here for years — 7.70
A mark of 7.70 means one thing beside a twenty-nine-year-old's name and something else entirely beside a 21-year-old's. Nobody at the ground needed telling which this was.
He is 23 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
Marked 8.15 — the sort of number a correspondent writes down twice to be sure. Everything he tried came off, and what he did not try was not worth trying.
The dugout2 Nov 2026
The view from the dugout
“We will look at it, we will learn from it, and we go again.” The three sentences every manager keeps for a 0‑1 defeat, delivered by Luis López to a room that had heard them before.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Rayane Belaid is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
“The manager did not use many words, and he did not need to.” Carlos Giménez has his answer from Atlético Madrileño; what he does with it is the next window’s story.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
“A point is a point and I will take it, but we should have had all three.” Luis López after the 1‑1 draw, and the sentence every manager in the country said at some stage this weekend.
Somebody else has been better, the manager has said so with a team sheet, and there is no argument to be had. He will get the shirt back the only way it can be got back.
Every squad has one of these fixtures for somebody every season. This one is Arnau Ortiz’s: the club that knew him first, the supporters who will decide in the first minute whether to applaud, and Atlético Madrileño needing him to play as if none of it matters.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Salvi Esquivel is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Aleksa Purić was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The dugout19 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Luis López chose the glass-half-full version of 0‑0; the supporters left with the other one.
There is no complaint available here and everybody involved knows it, which does not make the walk to the bench any shorter. Form is the only currency in football that cannot be borrowed against.
Ninety minutes, no goals, and the argument started before the car park emptied: a point gained, or two thrown away against Antequera? Both sides of it will still be going on Thursday.
At 24 he has taken a place rather than been given one, and somebody else has to find something to say about it. Atlético Madrileño have a decision that made itself.
Form comes and goes; this has not gone. Rayane Belaid is 21, and the version of him training now would not have got into the side he was in a year ago.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at Atlético Madrileño this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I did not come here to warm up in front of people.” He is out of contract eventually, he is old enough to count the weeks, and Atlético Madrileño will have to give him a reason to stay or an exit.
In brief
The dugoutAleksa Purić knocks on the manager's door
At 21 he is doing things this season that he could not do last season, and doing them every week. Form comes and goes; this has stayed long enough to be called something else.
At 21 he was better than everybody his age in the division for four weeks running, which is harder than one good afternoon. Atlético Madrileño will try not to make too much of it.
A point taken on 88 minutes is worth exactly one point and considerably more than that to a dressing room. This side does not stop, which is a reputation worth more than the result.
A month is long enough that nobody gets in by accident. Alejandro Mestanza is in the division's best eleven for it, which is a quieter compliment than an award and a more reliable one.
A 1‑1 draw with Teruel leaves the dressing room somewhere between relief and regret.
The dugout5 Oct 2026
The view from the dugout
“We did not lose. Some weeks that is all you get, and I would rather have the point than not.” Luis López chose the glass-half-full version of 1‑1; the supporters left with the other one.
In brief
The dugoutSomebody else is better right now than Carlos Giménez
Rafa Llorente was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
“We were not good enough today and I am not going to dress it up.” Luis López after 1‑2, in the tone of a man who knows the next question and does not intend to answer it.
Ninety specific minutes wanted a different sort of player, and the manager picked one. He is not out of form and he is not in the side, and both are true.
“I am not asking anybody to be better than they are. I am asking everybody to be as good as they are, every week.” Said out loud, in front of everybody, and the room at Atlético Madrileño was different afterwards.
Rafa Llorente was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Aleksa Purić is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.