Not many people understand Diego Simeone. The Atletico Madrid manager praised Sørloth after last season’s 20 La Liga goals, three more than superstar Julian Alvarez. The Argentine also had around 1000 (!) more minutes on the pitch than the Norwegian. Then comes the 2025/26 season and Sørloth is awarded playing time crumbs by Simeone. The Norwegian international has been linked to both Newcastle and the Turkish league in recent months, but on Saturday Simeone went out and talked about the important role Sørloth still has for Atletico.
Sørloth, in place in the starting eleven, scored both of Atletico’s goals in the space of 26 minutes, in what ended in a 2-0 win over Real Oviedo on Saturday night.
READ: We have a rule change after the razor-thin loss to Manchester City
After the game, Simeone was asked about the rumours of a Sørloth exit in January. The Atletico manager, who is considered one of the world’s best, talks about the way forward, where Sørloth and Atletico are made for each other.
“Whether he plays 15, 60 or 90 minutes, Alex is really important, because he has qualities that no one else has. He gives us the opportunity to play differently when he is on the pitch. We need him that way. That’s what the team needs and he will be happy because he is ambitious when it comes to scoring goals,” Diego Simeone said according to Yahoo Sports.
Read on English Clubs: Leeds have finally figured it out – calling Kalvin Phillips ‘home’
Ståle Solbakken wants Sørloth regularly on the pitch for entire matches before the World Cup finals, Diego Simeone cannot promise this, but can still offer Sørloth a solid run-up to the championship, where Atletico play on the Norwegian’s unique qualities.
