Atlético Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has backed his team to win LaLiga this season, as they go into 2025 top of the table, ahead of rivals Real Madrid and Barcelona.
Atlético begin the new year as league leaders, on 41 points from 18 games — a point ahead of Real and three points clear of Barça, who they beat 2-1 in a dramatic, added-time victory on Dec. 21.
The LaLiga club — who have won the title twice under coach Diego Simeone, in 2014 and 2021 — invested heavily in last summer’s transfer market, signing Julián Álvarez, Conor Gallagher, Robin Le Normand and Alexander Sørloth to boost their title chances.
“It isn’t the first time that we’re top, and it won’t be the last,” Cerezo said in an interview with the newspaper Marca on Tuesday. “Ending the year in first place, and thinking about how the team and the fans are, gives us the belief to keep going.
“We always finish in the top three. The most difficult years have been the years where we’ve ended up as champions. This year, we have all the possibilities in the world of being champions.”
Atlético started the season slowly, but have now won 12 consecutive games in all competitions, including that 2-1 away win against Barça at Montjuïc, with Sørloth scoring the decisive goal in the 96th-minute.
“We believe our team has to be among the top three: first, second or third,” Cerezo said. “Last year, we finished fourth. One of our goals is to be in the Champions League, and we’ve done it for the last 13 years. There aren’t many teams in Europe that have achieved that, and we’re one of them. Everything is possible.”
Atlético start 2025 by visiting Marbella in the Copa del Rey third round on Saturday, and then hosting Osasuna in LaLiga on Jan. 12.
