Giuliano Simeone Opens Up on Diego Simeone & Atletico’s Contract Plan

For most young footballers, breaking into a Champions League squad is already a monumental task. For Giuliano Simeone, that climb has come with an extra layer of scrutiny thanks to the surname stitched across the back of his shirt. Being the son of Diego Simeone, one of the most influential and demanding coaches in modern European football, is both a privilege and a burden—one that Giuliano has had to learn to manage with patience, discipline, and a stubborn determination to prove he belongs at Atletico Madrid on merit, not lineage.

As Atleti prepare to tie the 22-year-old winger to a long-term contract that could keep him in red and white until 2030, Giuliano has begun opening up about what this journey has really been like: the criticism, the expectations, the difficult detours, and the quiet, internal battles that shaped him far from the public eye. What emerges is not a story of a father giving his son shortcuts, but of a young player learning to grow inside arguably the most demanding football environment in Europe.

Giuliano Simeone’s Relentless Push to Become an Atleti First-Teamer

From Calderón Ball Boy to the Champions League Nights

Giuliano Simeone likes to joke that his career at Atletico started long before anyone knew his name. Long before the goals, the loan spells, or the scrutiny, he was just a kid in oversized training gear, running along the touchline at the Vicente Calderón with a mop of long hair, tossing balls back to the players he idolised.

But if there’s one thing that defines his story, it’s that sentiment doesn’t earn you a place at Atletico Madrid. His path to the first team took him across continents, into the pressure cooker of River Plate’s academy, and then back to Spain where he began climbing quietly through Atleti’s youth system while his father built one of the most successful eras in the club’s modern history.

It still wasn’t enough. To harden his football and build the kind of personality required to survive in LaLiga, Simeone needed to leave. Two loan spells—one at Real Zaragoza and another at Deportivo Alavés—gave him that reality check. Zaragoza taught him to fight for every point in the unforgiving Segunda División; Alavés forced him to rebuild himself after a serious injury interrupted all his momentum.

But then came 2024-25:
His first LaLiga goal.
His first steps in the Champions League.
His first real taste of competing for a permanent spot in the senior squad.

And through all of it, the question that has followed him since he was a teenager resurfaced again, louder than ever.

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“At Cerro, He’s the Coach. Outside, He’s My Dad.”

Giuliano Faces the Nepotism Criticism Head-On

Few footballers face the kind of criticism Giuliano faced even before he played his first professional game. At twelve years old, he was already hearing:

“You’re only playing because you’re Simeone’s son.”

It followed him through the youth levels, into professional football, and even now as he fights for minutes in the first team. Instead of snapping back at the accusation, Giuliano handles it with a calm maturity, even a touch of humour.

In a candid interview with El Larguero, he set the record straight:

“When we go into training at Cerro del Espino, when we cross those gates, he’s the coach and I’m a player. And the player always does what the coach says. Outside of training, obviously he’s my dad and he loves me a lot. Outside of training we talk a lot about football—we even have a family WhatsApp group where my brothers send videos of their matches. We all give our opinions. We’re a football family.”

There’s something deeply grounded in the way he speaks. No bitterness. No defensiveness. Just a clear desire to let his football do the talking.

He admits that as a kid, the comments used to sting, but repetition hardened him:

“At first, it hurts. Then you get used to it. And finally, you realise you play because you love it, because you work for it. I don’t know if I silenced them. I try to isolate myself, focus on improving.”

The Physical and Mental Evolution of Giuliano Simeone

How Atletico’s Training Ground Reshaped Him

Ask anyone at Atleti’s training ground, and they’ll tell you Giuliano Simeone’s biggest transformation hasn’t been technical—it has been physical.

To survive Diego Simeone’s football, you need to be relentless:
the pressing, the sprints, the duels, the defensive tracking, the explosiveness in transitions. Giuliano admits that his body wasn’t ready for that level when he first arrived. Atletico’s staff turned him into a more complete, powerful athlete piece by piece.

He learned from watching veterans. From being bumped off the ball in early training sessions. From getting frustrated, then returning the next day sharper.

Technically, he’s constantly polishing the details:

“My striking, my finishing… there are many aspects I work on. I watch all my matches. But not with my dad—no, no, no! There are already enough videos at the club. I like watching myself because it helps me learn. Sometimes I think I’ve played a great match, then I rewatch it and say, ‘Really, Giuliano? That’s what you call great?’”

There’s an authenticity in this self-reflection, the kind of humility that often separates a journeyman from a long-term top-flight professional.

The Setbacks: Zaragoza, Alavés, and the Injury That Tried to Break Him

Giuliano’s spell at Zaragoza was crucial. Nine goals in a demanding league gave him the confidence that he could dominate physically and contribute regularly.

But football has a way of testing people just when they think they’ve figured it out.
At Alavés, an injury halted everything—his progress, his form, his momentum, his dreams of returning to Atletico as a different player.

Rehabilitation is lonely. It’s repetitive. It’s mentally draining. But Giuliano came back from it stronger, both physically and emotionally. That resilience may end up defining him as much as any goal he scores.

Atletico Madrid Prepare a New Contract: The Next Step in Giuliano’s Journey

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A Deal Until 2030 and a New Role in the Squad

Inside the club, there’s a growing belief that Giuliano Simeone has earned his place not because of who his father is, but because of who he’s becoming as a player.

Atleti are finalising a new contract that will keep him at the club until 2030, accompanied by an overdue salary adjustment. Until recently, he was among the lowest earners in the first-team squad—a normal situation for academy graduates, but no longer reflective of his role.

Giuliano dreams of a long future at Atletico, and he doesn’t hide it:

“I’m very happy here. I hope to stay for many, many years. My dream is to have a career like Koke’s.”

That ambition—not fame, not comfort, not shortcuts—is what has kept him pushing.

A Simeone Carving His Own Story

Giuliano Simeone may share a name with one of football’s most iconic managers, but he is writing his own narrative—one training session, one match review, one quiet improvement at a time.

He doesn’t ask for special treatment. He doesn’t expect it.
All he wants is the chance to fight for every minute, just like any other player who walks into the Cerro del Espino training ground.

And if his journey continues on its current trajectory, Atletico’s future may just have another Simeone at its heart—one who earned everything the hard way.