Atletico Madrid Could Lose David De Gea and Sergio "Kun" Aguero

David De Gea has apparently already joined Man Utd.

Atletico Madrid have had a fairly quiet season, especially compared to last season when they won the Europa League. While at the beginning of this season Atletico won the UEFA European Supercup over Inter Milan, after that they went on to place seventh in La Liga, not qualifying for any European competitions for next season.



In that European Super Cup victory two stars played exceptionally, helping Atleti win the trophy. Sergio Aguero scored one of the goals in the 2-0 victory, and David De Gea saved a crucial penalty taken by Diego Milito. Now, Atletico Madrid could see both of those key players leave the club over the summer. Throughout this season, Sergio Aguero and David De Gea have proved to be important, maybe even irreplaceable players.



Aguero has scored 27 goals in all competitions for Atletico Madrid while providing six assists as well. As the season's top goalscorer for Atleti, Aguero has dribbled around the best defenders in the Champions League and La Liga, attracting the attention of many clubs for years now. He's still a young player soon turning 23 years-old, and while about a month ago he said he wanted to stay at Atletico Madrid, he has now seemingly changed his mind.

Aguero might sign for city rivals Real Madrid!

He says it's the right time to go for him, and that it has nothing to do with money. While Atletico Madrid fans might be slightly confused and unhappy with the mixed messages the Argentine has been sending out, it's important to remember that Aguero has scored over 100 goals for Atletico since joining the club.



Atletico might be losing Kun, and it's almost certain that their 19 year-old David De Gea will be leaving Madrid. It has been revealed that he has practically already signed for Manchester United, and all that is missing are the official announcements. The fee is rumored to be around 16-19 million Pounds, with which potential added bonuses could turn out to be quite a hefty profit for Atletico Madrid. While De Gea has a few things to sort out with his agent, Sir Alex Ferguson seems happy to have signed what should be Edwin van der Saar's replacement.



Regarding who Atletico Madrid could buy to replace the pair, most of the news has been about replacing "Kun" Aguero. Espanyol's Italian-Argentine Osvaldo could join Atletico for around 10 million Euros, but there have also been murmurs regarding Diego from Wolfsburg and Porto's Falcao or maybe even Hulk.



It will be a big blow for Atletico losing Aguero, especially if he joins the city rivals Real Madrid. But there are other clubs keeping an eye on him, including Chelsea who want the player to take a pay cut to join. If "Kun" decides to sign for Real Madrid, we could be in for a few very interesting upcoming Madrid derbys. And if Aguero does join Real, and De Gea leaves for Manchester United, who will be between the sticks to stop Aguero from scoring against his former club?



If you're interested in following all things Atletico Madrid, check out Madrid Atleticos. Some great writers there who report anything regarding Atleti.

Europa League Refereeing Needs Improving: Images

Falcao has been Porto's instrumental goalscorer this season

While the Champions League has been attracting a lot of attention due to the Real Madrid vs. Barcelona clash, this season's Europa League seems equally, if not more exciting. A dynamic FC Porto side has been the star the show, playing a goalscoring and attacking style. While their manager, Andre Villas Boas has already been called the new Jose Mourinho, him and his Porto team are looking to win European glory in the Europa League final against Sporting Braga.



Watching the highlights of the second leg of the semi-final between FC Porto and Villarreal, the whole experience was slightly ruined when I saw a pair of refereeing decisions which allowed Villarreal to score the opener of the match. A through ball slipped between Porto's defenders was well played, but the Villarreal players which received it were both very offside. From there, the offside player who received the ball slipped it to another player who was offside as well. None of the officials spotted this fairly blatant offside which created a goal for Villarreal.

From this angle, it's not hard to see the two offside Villarreal players close to the camera on the left side of the field.

Here we get a better view, and both are noticeably offside.

This is the second pass, and as you can see, the player closest to the camera who receives it is offside.

While these decisions didn't affect the overall outcome of the semi-final (Porto decisively won 7-4 on aggregate over Villarreal), I'm hoping that in the future these decisions don't happen anymore. 

We've got an interesting Europa League final coming up on May 18th between the two Portuguese clubs, FC Porto and Sporting Braga. It has been a strong tournament for Portuguese teams, with three in the semi-finals of the Europa League, and now two in the final. While I think Porto will win the Europa League, Braga have been consistent, and could surprise the Portuguese champions.

What are your thoughts on the Europa League refereeing? Did you see the whole match between Porto and Villarreal? Am I being picky, and should the beautiful game be allowed to continue without the use of technology? Who will win the Europa League? Share your comments below!