The secret pact that unites Simeone and Gil Marín at Atlético
Gil Marín and Diego Pablo Simeone confirmed a secret pact that keeps them at Atlético de Madrid until 2029.
Gil Marín was the one who called Simeone in December 2011. The call aimed to pull the team out of a crisis. The two years remaining for the chief executive are the same as those the coach is negotiating in his renewal. The secret pact is the basis of the figure announced for the coach's renewal.
Gil Marín has two years left in the role once this season ends, because his commitment to Apollo extends at least until the end of the 2028‑2029 season. The news of the extension arrived on Monday, the day after Barcelona's 1‑2 win at the Metropolitano that left the team five points behind the leader. The Argentine's contract expires in June 2027.
Shared calendar until 2029
Talks between Simeone and Atlético are aimed at extending their link until 2029, no year less and no year more. The pact explains that the coach will not sign for longer than the tenure ahead of the executive who brought him.
In the 2023 renewal, the club released a conversation in which Gil Marín said: “There has never been a better decision for the club’s history.” Since then, ownership has changed: Apollo is the majority shareholder and Miguel Ángel Gil Marín retains a minority stake. The fund’s entry agreement kept Enrique Cerezo as president and Gil Marín as chief executive, with the commitment to stay until the close of the 2028‑2029 season. That date is now shared with the bench.
The pact links each one's continuity to the other's, so that both calendars end the same summer. Consequently, Atlético would have to replace its coach and its chief executive simultaneously.
Potential successor to Gil Marín
For the office, Óscar Mayo, general director of Business and Operations, was emerging as a possible replacement for Gil Marín. For the bench, no successor has yet been identified. If the extension materialises, Simeone will have led Atlético for more than seventeen years, since his arrival on 23 December 2011.
The signing of the new agreement is still pending. Until it is formalised, the only active contract is the one that expires in June 2027.