Ranking Atletico Madrid's Top 10 Summer Transfers of the Past 10 Years
Atletico Madrid's transfer business came under scrutiny during summer 2015 after they secured a number of high-profile signings—including Jackson Martinez and Filipe Luis—but not all of them have hit the ground running as Los Colchoneros seek to mount a title challenge in La Liga.
To make the grade and be remembered as one of the club's best signings in recent times, the current crop have to find their quality, maintain consistency and contribute to success on the field—as plenty of other incoming players have done recently.
Here, we take a look at the 10 best signings by Atletico in the past 10 years—from 2005-06 onwards. We have opted to include only summer signings, with this year's additions excluded from consideration as they have yet to be at the club long enough to see what they can offer on a long-term basis.
Quality on the field while at Atletico, not other clubs, is the main criteria for ranking, but we also factor in the potential ceiling for younger players still at the club, their cost and resale value, and their overall contribution to team success.
Honourable Mentions
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There were several other candidates for the top-10 places, with four in particular just missing the cut.
Miranda—Brazilian centre-back. Signed on a free, served the club for several seasons before moving to Inter in the summer.
Diego Forlan—Uruguayan striker. Signed for big money off Manchester United, scored just shy of 100 goals and left as a 32-year old for Inter Milan.
Raul Garcia—Spanish midfielder. The versatile, aggressive and talented player was a Diego Simeone staple but not as a starter. He left for Athletic Club in the summer of 2015.
David Villa—Spanish striker. One successful season with Atletico after joining from Barcelona. Left for NYCFC.
Juanfran—Spanish right-back. Signed from Osasuna and has progressed to first-choice for club and country.
10. Jan Oblak
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The current goalkeeper of the side, Jan Oblak is following in the steps of David De Gea and Thibaut Courtois in proving himself one of the best young stoppers in Europe at Atletico.
A Slovenian international, Oblak took a few months last season to establish himself as the team's Liga goalkeeper, but he is now firmly entrenched in the team in all competitions. His reach, reflexes and consistency make him a perfect all-rounder.
It hasn't really come to the attention of the wider European football world just yet, but Oblak is one of the very finest around, and you have to back him to make his mark in the latter stages of the Champions League this season—and for many years beyond.
He cost around €15 million from Benfica last summer.
9. Jose Gimenez
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Jose Gimenez was an absolute bargain of a player when Atletico signed him and is an absolute monster of a centre-back now.
It takes a lot to displace someone like Miranda—an established title-winning centre-back in a settled back four—but Gimenez started to do that midway through last year, and by the end of the campaign, he was undisputedly starting on merit.
The young Uruguayan is fearless, committed, has good timing in the challenge and is improving in his on-the-ball work. Signed in the summer of 2013 for less than a million euros, the sky is the limit for Gimenez's talent to grow and his value to soar.
8. Arda Turan
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Turkey international Arda Turan spent four years at Atletico Madrid before leaving for Barcelona in the 2015 summer transfer window, making the club more than a €20 million profit in the process.
He won a league title, a domestic cup and the UEFA Europa League in his time at Atleti as one of the key components of Diego Simeone's team, bringing his creativity and invention off the right flank and being used as one of the main outlets of the team.
Turan could be the difference between a draw and a win on his best days, and it was no surprise to see another one of Europe's top teams eventually make a move for him.
7. Gabi
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As Atletico Madrid's current captain, Gabi is the man Diego Simeone continues to trust—even if his form has dipped over the past 14 months or so.
At his best in the title-winning season, Gabi was an absolute powerhouse from the centre of midfield, winning the ball in a combative and aggressive style and marauding forward to provide a constant supply line to the front three or four players, too.
Having signed from Real Zaragoza for barely €3 million, he's proved his value after lifting multiple trophies as skipper.
6. Antoine Griezmann
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He's sixth in our list based on what he has done for Atleti so far, but Antoine Griezmann could potentially go on to be one of their best signings of all time, never mind in the last 10 years.
The French forward will certainly fetch a fee in excess of €40 million, potentially doubling their initial outlay on the former Real Sociedad striker. His form since last December has been immense having converted from a wide threat to a centre-forward.
Consistency in front of goal now almost comes as standard for the fleet-footed attacker, and his dribbling, acceleration and ability to link play make him one of Europe's most admired attackers in the game.
5. Tiago
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Tiago has been an immense player for Atletico and continues to be a key component of the team at 34 years of age, partnering Gabi in centre midfield,.
Indeed, Tiago's own form continues to improve, and his qualities—both defensive and offensive,—are on view on an almost weekly basis. He's rarely taken out of the team and has been integral in Atleti's trophy haul over the past few years.
He signed from Juventus on a free transfer in 2011, incredibly, and four years later, he has proved a ridiculous steal.
4. Diego Costa
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Diego Costa was Atletico Madrid's player from 2007 onward, but he briefly left the club for a year—so it is from his return in 2010 that we grade him.
Atleti re-signed him from Valladolid for around €2 million, and after working his way into the team, he became the focal point of the attack over time and almost fired them to a Liga and Champions League double.
A haul of 36 goals in his final season at the club—27 in La Liga—was enough to earn the admiration of other clubs around Europe, and he was soon off to Chelsea for over €40 million.
The huge return on investment, the two years of reliable goalscoring and his rise from aggressive, squad member urchin to top-class attacking menace means he ranks extremely highly in Atletico's list of signings.
3. Sergio Aguero
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On to the podium places now, and Atletico's former striker Sergio Aguero makes the cut.
Signed from Independiente for what was then a club record fee of around €23 million, Kun took a year to become a regular starter but then blitzed La Liga for four years, proving himself one of the world's deadliest and most complete forwards.
Just over 100 goals in his five seasons at the club—winning the Europa League along the way—made him one of the priciest commodities on the continent, and he headed for Manchester City in 2011 for €45 million. It was a massive profit to go with the massive output he had provided Los Rojiblancos with.
2. Falcao
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The club's record signing of all time, Atletico replaced Aguero with Radamel Falcao of FC Porto. Improbably, he went on to be even better than the Argentinian had been, with the €40 million man enjoying a phenomenal strike rate in his two years at the Vicente Calderon.
Falcao totalled 36 and 34 goals in his two seasons with the club, spearheading the challenge to win the Europa League and the Copa del Rey in his Atleti days.
The Colombian then moved on to AS Monaco for a massive €60 million fee; even though third-party ownership meant Atleti didn't profit from the entire fee recouped, they certainly still got more than their money's worth for what was at the time one of the best strikers on the planet.
1. Diego Godin
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Top of our charts and beating all those talented strikers to be Atleti's best signing of the last 10 summers is centre-back Diego Godin.
An €8 million signing from Villarreal in 2010, Godin has been the mainstay and the heartbeat of the back four under Diego Simeone, bossing the back line of a predominantly defensively strong team for five seasons already and looking set to remain in place for years to come.
In terms of pure defenders, there aren't many better than him anywhere in the world. His impact at the other end of the field is imperative to the team, too, with Godin scoring decisive goals to win La Liga and the Copa del Rey in recent years.
