With each passing week, Diego Simeone’s grip on Atletico Madrid’s future feels more fragile, and September might be the month that shapes the next chapter.

At Estadio Metropolitano, uncertainty hangs in the air as Atletico Madrid stare down a month that might decide not just the club’s ambitions for the 2025/26 season, but also the fate of their era-defining manager Diego Simeone.

Simeone, over 14 turbulent, trophy-laden years, has become synonymous with the club’s identity. Yet, as the new season stutters to life, the question is acute: can ‘El Cholo’ still push Atleti forward, or has a cycle run its natural course? The stakes have rarely felt higher.

Diego Simeone and the weight of expectation

After another frustrating trophyless campaign in the 2024/25 season, Atletico Madrid’s board went all-in during the summer transfer window. Nine first-team players were shown the door, replaced by ten new arrivals (including free transfer and loan deals).

The headline act last season was the relentless Julian Alvarez, signed from Manchester City for a club-record fee, following up a 29-goal debut campaign. Adding Alex Baena (La Liga’s top assist provider last season), Giacomo Raspadori, and Marc Pubill alongside the Argentine, signalled a shift towards youth and intensity.

That backs-against-the-wall approach in the market meant only one thing for Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid: no more settling for third, no more “also ran” status behind the city’s glitzy rivals.

Clubs spending close to €200 million in a single window, fresh from one of Europe’s largest 18-month outlays, aren’t simply hoping for progress. They are demanding trophies, be it La Liga, Europe, or both.

The Stark Reality: A False Start and Rising Tension

The message, though, did not land on the pitch. Three weeks in, Atletico Madrid sit mid-table, winless after three league games, a return of just two points and already seven points adrift of Real Madrid’s perfect start.

It is Atletico Madrid’s worst opening under Diego Simeone since 2011/12, a stat that demands reflection. A late collapse against Espanyol on opening night set the tone, marked by tactical tweaks Simeone openly conceded were misjudged.

The new signings have brought energy, but cohesion and grit, the classic hallmarks of ‘Cholismo’, have looked in short supply. Supporters have not hidden their frustration, and even Diego Simeone, no stranger to pressure, admits the anger is “justified” among Atletico Madrid fans.

Stalwarts like Antoine Griezmann have publicly voiced the reality: playing for this club means fighting for every ball, every moment. Anything less is not acceptable.

Why the spotlight burns bright on Diego Simeone at Atetico Madrid

Diego Simeone is still the highest-paid coach in world football, with Atletico Madrid rewarding him handsomely over the years. His connection to Atleti, cemented by eight trophies and two historic La Liga triumphs, appears unbreakable in theory. But no dynasty is guaranteed eternal life. The board’s patience is now balanced against not just legacy, but performance as well.

For all the loyalty, even Atletico Madrid’s hierarchy must ask: are we just one great era past its peak, banking on memories, or is Diego Simeone still the man to lead a costly, ambitious rebuild? The next few games offer precious little margin for error to answer that.

The decisive run: September’s ‘Five Finals’

Here’s why this month looms as a pivot point:

Villarreal (La Liga, Sept 13): Always tricky and ferociously organised. Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone cannot afford further point drops at home.

Liverpool (UEFA Champions LEague, Sept 17): A huge European test against one of the continent’s most attacking sides. Defeat could seriously wound not just morale but Atleti’s group-stage prospects.Madrid and Barcelona more breathing room.

Real Madrid (La Liga, Sept 27): The ultimate barometer. Last season’s European heartache is still fresh, and now, trailing by 7 points, another defeat at the hands of their bitter rivals, especially at the Metropolitano, would only intensify the calls for change. Every match feels like a mini-final, the cumulative effect potentially career-shaping.

Scenarios: Forks in the road

If Diego Simeone’s men regroup, upset Liverpool, and take points from Real Madrid, the mood changes instantly at Atletico Madrid. Momentum returns, players buy into fresh ideas, the boo birds recede, and a season is rescued before it really slips away. The narrative of a crisis averted buys the Argentine more time, maybe even setting up another charge deep into 2026.

A tough night at Anfield and another humbling by Real could cast significant doubts about Simeone’s future. At that point, sentiment and history might not save the greatest manager in club history. Fan patience, already growing thin, will vanish; the board, having spent so lavishly, could feel compelled to act decisively before hope disappears entirely.

Wildcards and what’s really at stake for Diego Simeone and Atletico Madrid?

No coach ever wants to rely on luck, but the margins are razor-thin. Atletico Madrid’s new signings, especially Alex Baena and Marc Pubill, simply have to deliver. More is needed from Giacomo Raspadori, David Hancko, and the ever-creative Thiago Almada, especially with defensive leader Gimenez still on the treatment table and the midfield requiring glue.

For Simeone, the risks are existential:

Club Identity: Atletico Madrid risk reverting to their pre-Cholo years, perennial underdogs longing for an identity and a cause.

Long-term project: Most of the new signings are young, ambitious, and expensive. If a new manager arrives with different ideas, the current core could be unsettled and investment wasted.

Just as crucial: the fans. The Metropolitano faithful’s passion is legendary, but so is their impatience with complacency and stagnation. If they turn, no amount of goodwill can save a project. Diego Simeone rightly describes their emotion as Atletico Madrid’s driving force, but it can also sting when results go missing.

Is this the end, or just another bump?

The focus is brutally simple. Has Diego Simeone, the man who once made Atletico Madrid the envy of Europe, lost the ability to build elite squads in this new era? Will the added pressure of another big-spending “reset” finally force the club’s hand if September ends in further disappointment?

One thing is clear: in the high-stakes world of European football, even legends find grace periods getting shorter. The next four weeks will ask the harshest questions yet of Simeone, and the answers could shape Atletico for years to come.

So, as the world waits for the next chapter of this remarkable story, one question hangs over the Spanish capital: if defeat and disappointment follow, will Atlético have the nerve to end the most remarkable managerial reign in the club’s history, or does ‘El Cholo’ have one last fight in him to turn narrative, and season, around?