Atletico Madrid go from one crisis to another

Against Espanyol on Saturday, Thomas Partey took advantage to make his feelings clear, despite starting the game. The Ghanaian has struggled for game time this season, falling below Rodrigo Hernandez in the pecking order, but was called upon alongside Angel Correa in a rotating line-up from Diego Simeone.

"Sometimes I feel unhappy at Atletico," he told Gol. The number five has become yet another problem from Atletico to handle as those in charge spend their time-fighting fires after it emerged that Lucas Hernandez is set to depart the club for Bayern Munich in January. Someone has made his feeling clear that the club must do all they can to put a stop to the move, though there is no money available to increase his wages midway through the season. The salary limit has Atletico between a rock and a hard place and the players have known it since August when Diego Costa demanded a pay rise off the back of a strong European Super Cup display and a new deal for Antoine Griezmann, which sees him earn 21 million euros net per year. That is almost three times what Costa earns, and the Spain international is the second best player in the squad. He is not alone either, Jan Oblak wants to improve his conditions from four million euros net per year to become one of the best-paid goalkeepers in the world, in order to match his quality. It is a squad who are looking for better terms and are not only concerned by their salaries. Injuries too have had an impact, with muscular injuries hitting many and details leaking which has led to criticism of the well respected Profe Ortega, the club's fitness coach. Atletico has gone from crisis to crisis this season, and Thomas' latest declarations are just the latest.