Atletico Madrid have been preparing for and evolving from the post-Koke Resurreccion era, with the club captain entering the twilight of his career. While they may not be the same players in terms of what they provide to the team, Los Rojiblancos do have an academy talent to take over as the heart and soul of their midfield – and he is there to stay.
That is according to the latest reporting from Matteo Moretto on Relevo, who has revealed that Pablo Barrios will sign a new contract with Atletico Madrid until 2030. The 21-year-old, capped for the first time by Spain this season, currently has a deal until 2028, but will no doubt receive a significant salary bump reflecting his status as a regular in the team. There was reported interest from Bayern Munich earlier this season, but it seemed unlikely Barrios would depart his boyhood club.
This season Barrios has made 38 appearances for Atletico, scoring once, and assisting three times for Los Rojiblancos. Most significantly, Barrios has started more than 70% of their Liga games, and played more than 75% of their minutes in the league. Clear evidence that Barrios has asserted himself as a regular for Simeone this season.
Barrios did miss a month of action in September with a hamstring injury, and had a dip in form early in 2025, being sent off twice in the space of a month, but generally has provided energy, quality to escape pressure, and has been a key part of their pressure in the middle of the pitch.
The search for a traditional number five as it would be in Argentina continues though. Koke had reinvented himself as the player that picked the ball up from the defence, but as his legs wane, the feeling is that the future of Atletico’s midfield requires someone alongside Barrios to direct matters. Los Colchoneros have been linked with a return for Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey, the last player Simeone felt comfortable with in that role before Koke.