If you watched any of Atlético Madrid’s humiliating 4-0 loss to Paris Saint-Germain to kick off the FIFA Club World Cup on Sunday, you will have seen the newly-minted European champions rip Atlético’s left side to shreds. Diego Simeone opted to start Clément Lenglet as the left center-back, while Javi Galán (the left-back) and Samuel Lino (the left winger) were chosen to...perform some function, I guess.
While I can’t speak with any certainty as to just what has happened to Samuel Lino over the past year, Javi Galán and Clément Lenglet are just trying their best out there. These are players whose talent level does not match the ambition of Atlético de Madrid’s coach (note how I didn’t say “Atlético de Madrid as a club”).
There is a reason Barcelona were willing to let Lenglet leave on a free transfer last week. There is a reason Galán excelled on loan at Real Sociedad in 2024. And yet, Lenglet has just signed a three-year contract to remain at Atleti, right now as a first-choice center-back; Galán may yet leave this summer, but Diego Simeone rates him as the best left-back currently in his squad.
That situation will change in the weeks ahead. Atlético will sign a left-back after the Club World Cup, a move that has probably been left too late.
Not to make excuses for the club’s front office, but this isn’t the best market for a team in need of a new left-back. Players like Andrea Cambiaso, Álvaro Carreras, and Jorrel Hato have been ruled out due to their asking prices; Rayan Aït-Nouri and Milos Kerkez only had eyes for the Premier League; signing Theo Hernández was (is) not feasible due to the player’s past as a Real Madrid player.
Even so, Atlético still seem destined to sign a “discard” from a richer club to fill Simeone’s need for a starting left-back.
The options that have gained the most strength on director of football Carlos Bucero’s shortlist are stopgaps, proof that the club is once again treating the most important position in Simeone’s team as if it can put any over-30 defender with a couple titles on his resume in there and call it a day. And that’s not acceptable.
⚪️ Atlético Madrid are also considering Lucas Digne as option at left back if Robertson deal doesn’t happen.
Atléti only want to pay small fee or get Robertson deal done on free transfer; Digne’s also on the shortlist, as @_pauljoyce reported today. pic.twitter.com/FsjdzrquX4
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 16, 2025
According to Marca, Andy Robertson and Lucas Digne are the two best-placed options to reinforce Atlético’s left flank. This is not because they fit a certain playing philosophy, nor is it because they are world-class options to present to a world-class coach.
No, the choice will be Robertson or Digne (Robertson is more likely at this stage) because:
the players are entering the final year of their contracts
the players are unlikely to fetch a transfer fee greater than €10 million
the players are “experienced” and have won important competitions before
Robertson, who turned 31 in March, is expendable at Liverpool because the Reds are about to sign Kerkez from Bournemouth (who signed Rennes’ Adrien Truffert, a player Atleti should have targeted, as a replacement). Robertson is a two-time Premier League champion who won the Champions League at the Metropolitano in 2019; even though he has lost some of his famed pace, he remains a good crosser, and his battling attitude would be a natural fit with El Cholo. Robertson’s agent, Tyler Alexander-Arnold, facilitated his brother Trent’s transfer to Real Madrid earlier this month and is responsible for offering the Scotland captain to Atleti now.
Digne, who turns 32 next month, is a different type of player than Robertson. Digne has been the first-choice left-back under Unai Emery at Aston Villa; the former Barcelona defender has become sturdy and reliable out of possession, but he is fairly conservative and “traditional” in possession, meaning he would likely be converted into a wide center-back here. And he turns 32 next month!
That Atlético are considering these two players does not speak to a serious plan to “rejuvenate” the biggest problem that the squad has — and I even think Robertson would be a pretty good acquisition! Miguel Ángel Gil and the club board have always understood that it costs a lot of money to bring in players who represent a qualitative leap. But as ever at this club, there are one or two priority signings every summer, and any other arrivals — even at a position as essential as the full-back — are conditioned by sales or how far downward Gil can negotiate the price.
The average age of the Paris Saint-Germain 11 on Sunday was 24.9 years old; the average age of Atlético’s lineup was 28.4 years old. No other elite club conducts its business in a matter so unsustainable for the long term. Gil and Cerezo don’t see “life after Simeone”; they see life until the sports city is built and it’s time to sell the club for as much money as they can milk out of it. You start to doubt whether the club is capable of capitalizing on this season’s positive aspects and building an ambitious project centered on Julián Alvarez, one of world football’s most complete strikers, who opted to come here in the prime of his career.
One last thing: Álex Grimaldo, who has been posting wild chance creation numbers over in the Bundesliga, is crazy about leaving Bayer Leverkusen. He wants to return to Spain, he would probably cost €30 million, he is younger than Robertson and Digne, and neither Barça nor Real Madrid have moved for him. He is probably the best left-back available to Atlético de Madrid, but the club doesn’t seem at all interested in signing him.
And you already know why.