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Unless it's Real Madrid or Barcelona, no La Liga club seem capable of keeping their best players. Not even Atletico Madrid, who've seen numerous top stars leave the club for better sides, especially in the last decade or so.
Yet, the Rojiblancos have been highly successful under Diego Simeone, thanks in no small part to the manager's tactical brilliance and also to the club's incredible scouting network, which has adequately helped replace the outgoing stars almost every single time.
Atletico Madrid's XI if they had not sold their best players:
Over the years, Atletico Madrid have sold so many marquee players that one has to wonder how the team would look like if they had retained them all. Well, worry not, we've got it all sorted for you.
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Honourable mentions:
Diego Forlan, Mario Mandzukic, Raul Jimenez, Lucas Hernandez, Miranda and Kevin Gamiero.
On that note, here's the best XI of players sold by Atletico Madrid: (Formation: 4-4-2).
Goalkeeper: David De Gea (Manchester United)
We could've easily gone with Thibaut Courtois here. That was because he was at the heart of Atletico Madrid's rise to European prominence, and he won the Europa League, La Liga and the Copa Del Rey in the early years of the Diego Simeone era. However, the towering Belgian was only on loan from Chelsea, and hence De Gea beats him to this spot.
A graduate of the club's academy, the Spaniard broke into the Atletico Madrid senior team in 2009 after five impressive years with the youth side.
David De Gea usurped Sergio Asenjo as the first-choice in goal by the end of the season and also featured in the Europa League final win against Fulham at just 19 years of age.
His superlative performances throughout the 2010-11 season sparked rumours linking him with Manchester United, who were looking to replace the retiring Edwin van der Sar.
And despite De Gea playing them down all the while, his £18.9 million transfer, which was then a British transfer record for a goalkeeper, was confirmed later in the summer. Suffice to say, David De Gea hasn't looked back since.
Right-back: Juanfran (Sao Paolo)
Originally a winger, Juanfran turned into an accomplished full-back at Atletico Madrid, featuring regularly for the side for nine years after arriving from Osasuna in 2010. While his numbers weren't extraordinary, the Spaniard's defensive work was top notch.
In 2016, ESPN FC ranked him as the third-best full-back in the world. Even though one of his more enduring memories with Atletico Madrid is a penalty miss in the Champions League final that year, Juanfran is widely hailed as one of the best in the club's history.
With 355 appearances, 41 assists and seven trophies under his belt, Juanfran moved to Brazil to join Sao Paolo in 2019 after the end of his contract with Atletico Madrid.
Centre-back: Diego Godin (Cagliari)
Another club legend, Diego Godin was an unbreachable bulwark that gave even the world's mightiest strikers a serious run for their money. He was also a key cornerstone in Atletico Madrid's first revolution under Simeone.
Despite lacking in pace and athleticism, the Uruguayan made a difference with his excellent positioning, superb organisational skills and exemplary leadership qualities. He guided his side to eight titles, including the historic La Liga title in 2014, when he scored the decisive goal on the final day of the season against Barcelona.
After his contract expired in 2019, Godin joined Inter Milan, ending his Atletico Madrid career with 389 caps. He's presently representing another Serie A side, Cagliari, after leaving Inter this summer.
Centre-back: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham Hotspur)
Toby Alderweireld is somewhat of a forgotten man at the Wanda Metropolitano. He appeared only 12 times for the club during the 2013-14 season, but the Belgian merits a spot here for the stature he commands today.
After coming through the ranks at Ajax during his six-year spell in Amsterdam, the centre-back struggled to force his way into the Atletico Madrid starting-XI as Godin and Jose Gimenez held an iron-grip at the heart of the backline.
After a successful loan spell with Southampton the next season, Alderweireld joined Tottenham Hotspur permanently in 2015 and has since established himself as a top defender in the Premier League. He even won the club's Player of the Year award in his debut season.
Left-back: Theo Hernandez (AC Milan)
This was a hard choice between the Hernandez brothers, Lucas and Theo, as both came through Atletico Madrid's ranks. While Lucas played for the side for five years, he wasn't a first-teamer; Theo never played for the Atletico Madrid senior team but is now fast developing into a world-class full-back.
That's exactly why we've chosen to go with Theo here, as his performances with AC Milan since joining the side last season may have left the Madrid side wondering if they let the wrong Hernandez go.
Theo Hernandez even struggled to establish himself with Atletico Madrid's crosstown rivals Real Madrid in the 2017-18 season but has come of age in the Serie A. He contributed 11 goals last season and brought about a new dimension to the Rossoneri attack with his prolific dribbling skills and crossing ability.
Right Winger: Antoine Griezmann (FC Barcelona)
Antoine Griezmann's steady development into a prolific forward at Real Sociedad caught the attention of Atletico Madrid, who swooped in for the French star in 2014, as they sought to replace the Chelsea-bound Diego Costa.
A winger by trade, Griezmann was mostly deployed by Diego Simeone in the striker's role. That upped his game by several notches as Griezmann became one of the most prolific strikers in the world.
In five seasons at Atletico Madrid, Antoine Griezmann scored 133 goals and assisted 50 in 257 appearances. He guided the club to three titles, which included one Europa League triumph, before leaving for Barcelona last year, where he's since struggled to replicate his best form.
Central Midfielder: Rodri (Manchester City)
After three successful years at Villarreal, Rodri returned to his boyhood club Atletico Madrid in 2018 and signed a five-year contract. However, he played just one season at the club before Atletico Madrid extracted a mammoth £62.6 million from Manchester City for the player's services last year.
That's a testament to the talent of the 24-year old, who has been compared with compatriot Sergio Busquets for his box-to-box skills.
Rodri is excellent in ball recoveries, accurate with his passes and strong in possession. His impressive performances for the Sky Blues have enabled him to be touted as the long-term successor of Fernandinho in the club's holding midfield role.
Central Midfielder: Raul Garcia (Athletic Bilbao)
Not the most glamorous name on this list, Raul Garcia was a loyal servant to Atletico Madrid for eight long years, making 329 appearances for the club in all competitions.
He was a constant presence in the midfield, acting as a great cover to the back four with his defensive qualities while also providing a healthy goalscoring option with his attacking instincts; Raul Garcia scored 46 goals for the Rojiblancos.
Garcia requested for a transfer in the summer of 2015 and joined Athletic Bilbao, where he plays in a more attacking role.
Last season, he finished as the fifth-highest scorer in the top flight with 15 goals, which was also the most by a Spaniard after only Gerard Moreno.
Left Winger: Arda Turan (Galatasaray)
Arda Turan's decline has been one of the most dramatic stories of modern football, but once upon a time, he was widely hailed as one of the greatest Turkish players ever. Some of his best years in the game came with Atletico Madrid, where he was an instrumental figure in Diego Simeone's squad.
Equipped with excellent vision, lightning speed and the versatility to play across multiple positions, Arda Turan was the key to launching counterattacks galore for Atletico Madrid, while his dead-ball prowess was second to none.
Turan contributed 54 goals in 178 games for Atletico Madrid in four years at the club, picking up four trophies along the way, which included one La Liga and one Europa League title apiece.
El Turc, as he was fondly called, was touted for bigger things when he moved to Barcelona in 2015, but on-field struggles and lack of game-time prompted the star to return to Turkey after just two years in Catalonia. Since then, Turan's career has been marred by controversies.
Striker: Sergio Aguero (Manchester City)
Sergio Aguero has been at Manchester City for so long that it's easy to forget that he, too, was once an Atletico player.
Signed from Argentinian side Independiente in 2006 for a then-club-record €20 million transfer, the striker was initially an understudy to Diego Forlan, but his precocious talent soon saw him join forces with the Uruguayan up front.
His blistering exploits throughout the next five years made him one of the best young attacking talents in La Liga and beyond.
Aguero netted 101 times from 234 games in all competitions, lifting two trophies along the way before Manchester City snapped him up in 2011. And the rest, as we all know, is history.
Striker: Radamel Falcao (Galatasaray)
Radamel Falcao arrived at Atletico Madrid on the coattails of Aguero's exit as the Rojiblancos looked to cement the attacking void left behind after the Argentine's exit.
Atletico Madrid signed up Falcao on a then-club-record €40 million transfer following the Colombian's blistering exploits with Porto, where he averaged 0.87 goals per game during a highly successful two-season stint.
A deadly finisher back in the day, Falcao replicated those heroics at Atletico Madrid too, scoring 70 times from 91 games. He played a key role in guiding the side back to Europa League glory in 2012 as the club also enjoyed UEFA Super Cup and Copa Del Rey success.
However, just like at Porto, Falcao played only two seasons at Atletico Madrid before jumping ship again. This time, Falcao moved to Ligue 1 side AS Monaco, where he struggled with injuries and a massive dip in form. Falcao now plies his trade in Turkey with Galatasaray.
