Cristiano, more influence at Atlético than Lewandowski at Barça

Christian. No other name is mentioned in the Metropolitan in recent days. The arrival of the Portuguese, no matter how bizarre it might seem in the red and white offices now, is an option that can happen if the wind blows in your favour, and in the club they know it. It’s a market opportunity that Cholo looks out of the corner of his eye and despite the official version (“the operation is not economically feasible”), the truth is that it’s not being considered today, in a few weeks the situation may change. And now that it’s so fashionable to talk about levers, it may be one of them who is landing the crack in Madrid. Atleti need to sell for €40m to balance the accounts, which hasn’t even come close to being achieved so far this summer. Nevertheless, The departure of some of their most prestigious players in the market such as Griezmann, Morata or Correa would be a blow that would speed up the operation.

Cholo is very fond of Portuguese. Dazzled by his competitive and winning nature, he has recognized more than once that he is a crucial, crucial player. Simeone knows he still has a lot to contribute at 37, and artificial intelligence is helping him in that. According to Olocip, a company that uses AI to predict player performance, Cristiano would bring greater value to the team than Lewandowski is said to offer Barcelona. The tool estimates that over the next ten months, as a rojiblanco and with Simeone as coach, the Madeira player would help Atleti to score or avoid a goal every 321 minutes, compared to 328 minutes for the former Bayern player. If we compare him to the rest of the forwards in the squad, the Portuguese would also be the standout. The one who would come closest to him would be João Félix with 377 minutes and behind him would be Griezmann (425 minutes), Cunha and Correa (450 minutes) and Morata (492 minutes).

Enlarge

In terms of goals, the current United player would also top the list. If he played 90% of the minutes in La Liga, Cristiano would score 15 goals, one more than Cunha in identical conditions (14) and two more than João (13). Then Morata (12), Correa (10) and Griezmann (8) would go. In this section, the Portuguese would slipstream from ‘Lewi’, who would edge him by four goals at 19. But given the different styles of play between the two teams, that wouldn’t be surprising. In short, and given the data, Atleti would add Cristiano to a more than viable player despite his age, a forward with instant power who, according to advanced statistics, would improve not only what is already in the squad but also what exists outside . There’s still a lot of fabric to cut and its arrival wouldn’t be easy at all, though Simeone has him in his head and the AI ​​supports him.