Former striker Diego Forlan believes Atletico Madrid stand a strong chance of lifting the Spanish league title this year.
Now aged 40, the former frontman played for Los Rojiblancos between 2007 and 2011, winning the Europa League title and UEFA Super Cup during that time.
Atleti sit top of the early standings in La Liga after winning each of their opening three games – sitting five points clear of champions Barcelona and four ahead of Real Madrid.
“Real Madrid and Barcelona both have great players, but so do Atletico,” Forlan explained to reporters.
“They signed really good players, Joao Felix is obvious, and Diego Costa is a really good striker with lots of experience.
“They have renewed their team with lots of great young players that wanted to come to the club and have rejuvenated their squad.
“They had a great pre-season and now we need to see how they get on in La Liga, but they have made a really fast start and look really impressive.
“They are a team who always fight and they will be competing for the league title and the gap between them and winning it is getting closer and closer.
“The other thing is, those players who have won everything at Barcelona and Real Madrid are getting older as well.”
