Today's Briefing

Alejandro Grimaldo joins from Bayer Leverkusen on a deal through June 2030 for around €15m fixed plus €5-8m in variables. Last season he contributed 26 goal involvements for Leverkusen, including five free-kick goals and five set-piece assists — exactly the profile Simeone needs on the left.

Atleti has made the complaint official, accusing Barça of illegally harassing Julián Álvarez into requesting a transfer outside the window. The club is not interested in reconciliation with the player and views the regulatory intervention as leverage to protect the release clause or force a clean deal.

Barça are deliberately holding off their final offensive until the tournament ends. A face-to-face meeting between the clubs already took place but a €10-20m fee gap remains, and Atleti are demanding cash only at €150m. Álvarez's camp has told PSG and Arsenal the player's focus is solely on Barcelona.

Clément Lenglet officially leaves the club to join SL Benfica, becoming the second confirmed departure of the summer after his peripheral role last season.

AS analysts note Grimaldo fits a back-five or back-four and can even push higher as a winger. His set-piece delivery is elite — five free-kick goals and five set-piece assists last season — making him a weapon in Simeone's structured build-up and dead-ball routines.

The official calendar is out. Derbies and Clásicos are set, with the first Clásico in October and the second in May. Atleti fans can now plan the season around the key dates.

Atleti's move for Kang-In Lee is driving real commercial and cultural impact in South Korea before a deal is even announced, with a new peña (supporters club) already established in the country.

The Mexican international midfielder carries the Atleti flag into the knockout rounds at the World Cup, facing Ecuador next.