3 reasons why Atletico Madrid can break the Real Madrid and Barcelona duopoly next season

#3 Barcelona and Real Madrid are entering a phase of transition

Cristiano Ronaldo - left La Liga for pastures new

The biggest story of the off-season has been Cristiano Ronaldo packing his bags for Turin to join The Old Lady. Apart from this, Real Madrid has also had to contend with the departure of manager Zinedine Zidane.

Julen Lopetegui was placed at the helm by the Real Madrid hierarchy. However, his time at Real Madrid did not get off to the best of starts. Just hours after being announced as Real Madrid manager, he lost his job as Spain’s manager for the World Cup.

Zidane was highly successful at Real. He won La Liga in 2017, and 3 back to back Champions League titles. All eyes will be on Julen Lopetegui - the former Barcelona player filling the void left by Zidane.

Apart from the managerial aspect, Real Madrid will have to adapt to the idea of playing without their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo. Cristiano scored a staggering 450 goals for Real in 438 appearances.

Los Blancos would want to replace him with someone like Eden Hazard, but getting their hands on him is easier said than done. Real Madrid’s season would be shaped by how well they are able to offset the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo.

Barcelona on the other hand do not have that big a transition to go through, but a transition nonetheless. Andres Iniesta left Barcelona after several trophy laden seasons. They acted quickly and brought Arthur Melo to the club. However, Iniesta’s boots are not that easy to fill. Apart from this, Paulinho also left the club for China.

Barcelona have enough talent in their forward ranks for a sustained title assault, but it is the defence and midfield that is a cause of concern.

While Barcelona have a good starting midfield, they do not have the adequate bench strength. In defense - Pique is not getting any younger, and Vermaelen is very injury-prone. Umtiti has proven himself to be a very astute defender, but if he doesn’t get enough support, Barcelona will be vulnerable.

A new era is about to begin at Barcelona, and they still need a couple of signings to get to their desired levels.

However, there is a level of uncertainty always attached to new signings. It is this transitional phase that puts Atletico Madrid in the driver’s seat to go out and drive their way to glory.