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Friday, April 17, 2020 at 15:55
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The season in LaLiga has been halted for some time due to the outbreak of the corona crisis, and it remains to be seen whether the current football year can be completed. On Thursday, it was announced in the Spanish press that the football association of the Southern European country is already working on a scenario for the next European season when this is not the case.
Numbers one to four Barcelona, Real Madrid, Sevilla and Real Sociedad will in that case enter the Champions League, leaving Getafe and Atlético Madrid empty-handed. AS Friday to report that los Colchoneros want to do everything to ensure that the season can be completed. The team of trainer Diego Simeone currently occupies sixth place, a point behind number four Sociedad and wants to do everything in the last nine rounds to still get the coveted ticket for the billions ball.
If Atlético fails to qualify for the Champions League, it will have significant financial consequences. The club, which eliminated titleholder Liverpool just before the football was shut down, already earned 77 million euros in the tournament this season and that amount could rise to 100 million. In the 2017/18 season, when the Europa League was won, revenues were only sixteen million.
Atlético wants to increase its budget every year and is therefore in serious trouble if no Champions League is played. In that case, the Madrilenians have to sell players, according to the sports newspaper mentioned above, and there are currently a few candidates. Saúl Ñíguez is one of the main candidates to make up for the difference in income. The midfielder has been mentioned for some time at Manchester United, which is willing to put half of its 150 million clause on the table. As the transfer amounts will plummet due to the corona crisis, it is expected that Atlético will seriously consider such an offer.
Thomas Partey could also make up the difference between playing the Champions League and playing the Europa League. The Ghana international has a fifty million clause in his contract and he has been expressly associated with a move to Arsenal. Thomas Lemar, Santiago Arias and Diego Costa are also listed as players who can provide the necessary income, but they are likely to be more difficult to sell for significant amounts. Atletico can also secure a ticket for the Champions League in a second way by winning this year’s edition, if the tournament is yet to be played.
