THE USA’s influence on football is still growing; the relationship between FIFA and the White House seems unhealthily strong, there are moves to take European fixtures to the US that have been temporarily thwarted, and investors are streaming into Spain, England and Italy looking for clubs or assets to add to multi-club models. This is purely financial manouvering because no matter how enthused the investors seem, there seems at times to be a lack of understanding about the sport and its culture.
Not everyone is happy about the Americanisation of football (sorry, soccer), the crass presentation of the game during the FIFA Club World Cup was a worry and a possible pointer to how World Cup 2026 may look. But there’s no doubt the US is one of the places where the money is and acquisitions are likely to rise in the years ahead.
The latest transaction concerns Spain’s Atlético Madrid, whose majority shareholder is now Apollo Global Management, who recently took a 70% stake. The club is now valued at between € 2.5 and € 3 billion. Atléti’s CEO, Miguel Angel Gil Marin, was upbeat when the deal was announced, calling Apollo, “a great ally that respects the history, traditions and identity of Atlético and its fans.” It should also be noted that Atléti already had a firm strategic focus on North America and has a stake in Mexican club Atlético San Luis.
Apollo’s investment not only underlines the trend of US-owned clubs, but also the increased interest from the private equity sector. Atléti are the third La Liga club to have US ownership, following Mallorca and Espanyol. In theory, this could make the league more competitive, but Atléti, as Spain’s “third club” is still some way behind Real Madrid and their enormous potential to generate cash.
That said, Atlético are a club that is growing bigger by the year. They are among the top dozen football organisations in Europe when it comes to drawing crowds, their average of over 60,000 at their excellent Metropolitano stadium emphasises just how important they have become in the past decade. They currently have plans to transform the area around the stadium – Ciudad del Deporte – to become a site with training facilities for the Atléti team and other facilities such as golf. Off the field, the club is adding top level professionals such as former Barcelona sports director Mateu Alemany.
One of Atléti’s strengths is their ability to partner with the right people in order to maintain their momentum. This has seen them prosper from the involvement of Wanda (2015), Quantum Pacific Group (2017), Ares (2021) and now Apollo, which has given them the flexibility to invest in players and infrastructure projects. The club has also benefitted, albeit on a short-term basis, from the deal between La Liga and CVC Capital Partners involving media rights.
Going head-to-head with Real Madrid and Barcelona is tough, but Atléti were La Liga champions as recently as 2021 and they are consistently in the top three. They are due to host their second Champions League final in 2027, just eight years after the Liverpool versus Tottenham final in 2019. The stadium, which opened in 2017, has allowed Atléti to increase their matchday earnings from less than € 40 million at the old Vicente Calderón to more than € 80 million at their new arena.
Not so long ago, the club was very proficient in selling young players for sizeable fees; they were one of the front-runners in player-trading and seemed to be able to provide the market with a stream of very decent forwards. There is arguably greater competition today and while they are extremely active, with a gross spend of € 176 million in 2025-26, there have been fewer big headlines. Their biggest arrival was Álex Baena from Villareal, who cost € 42 million and their highest fee received was for Samuel Lino, who was sold for € 22 million to Flamengo.
On the field, Atlético have lost just once in the league in 2025-26 but they have drawn four of their 12 games. At home, they have been mightily impressive with six wins and a draw in their seven fixtures, including a very notable 5-2 victory against Real Madrid. They are in fourth place, six points behind leaders Real Madrid. Their Champions League form has been patchy, with two defeats away from home (Liverpool and Arsenal) and two wins at the Metropolitano (Frankfurt and Union Saint-Gilloise).
Diego Simeone has been coach of Atléti since December 2011, the longest serving in Europe. Each year, there is speculation about his future and when every major job becomes available, his name is invariably on the list of possibles, despite having a fiery temperament. The Argentinian remains loyal to Atléti and his win rate is just under 60%. He has won two league titles, the Copa del Rey and two Europa Leagues. Furthermore, his stats compare very well with Mourinho, Ancelotti, Klopp, Flick and Alonso, among others. The club knows that they are in a very competitive mini-league with two behemoths sitting firmly in the top two places, so success has to be patiently secured.
Simeone has presided over Atlético’s team in an era where they have moved firmly into contention with Real Madrid and Barca. This is a significant achievement considering the financial power and influence of the big two. As well as their two La Liga titles, Atlético have also been in two Champions League finals since 2014 compared to Barca’s one and Real’s five. Atlético are still waiting for their first title – they just need to avoid clashing with Champions League experts Real.
It is possible that Atlético Madrid are the biggest club to change hands in a while. According to Deloitte, they are ranked 12th and of those above them, not a single one has been taken over in the past couple of years. Apollo may have pulled off a coup in becoming the majority shareholder of a giant of a club that will surely become more prominent in the years ahead.
Published by
