Diego Simeone's combative, tough-tackling Atletico Madrid go in search of European football's top prize this Saturday at Milan's San Siro stadium against rivals Real Madrid. But off the pitch, an equally tenacious approach is helping to rebuild a club once considered a basket case of the Spanish game.
For much of their recent history, Los Colchoneros ("the mattress makers") lay on shaky foundations, plagued by mismanagement and crippling debt that forced them to sell some of their best assets, including the likes of Sergio Aguero, Fernando Torres, Diego Costa and David De Gea. Even when Atletico won La Liga in 2014 (the 10th league title in their 113-year history) and reached the Champions League final the same season (when, as now, they faced Real Madrid), they still had reported debts of €540 million, much of it money owed to Spanish tax authorities.