In the first round of La Liga on 15 August, Atletico beat Granada 3-1 at home. Morata, Depay and Llorente scored for Atletico and Granada's Omorodion contributed. The first round of La Liga is now over, with Atletico Madrid at the top of the table, and Barca, who drew in the first round, are only 12th.
In this game at Atletico, Atletico were able to win thanks to Depay's brilliant play. With the two teams tied 1-1, Depay fired a world wave in the 67th minute when he scored Granada's goal with a violent long-range shot to put Atletico back in the lead and set the tone for the team's eventual victory.
Depay was a former Eredivisie Golden Boot winner, a former attacking heart for Lyon and a front-line leader for the Dutch national team. Depay's performance at Barca was not recognized by the team, so Barca sold Depay to Atletico Madrid for a transfer fee of 3 million euros. When Depay arrived at Atletico, his performances won the support of Atletico fans.
Depay made three starts in nine games last season and made six substitute appearances, with Depay scoring four goals for Atletico. In the opening game of the season, Depay came off the bench to score a goal. In the minds of Atletico fans, Depay is really good, a great signing. A 3-1 match made Barça a laughing stock! Sold to Atletico Madrid's 3 gods, only earned 14.1 million, lost 2 titles.
Depay is currently 29 years old and there is room for his career to continue to rise, and it is a pity that Barca disposed of Depay at a low price. Before Barca's Depay joined Atletico, Barca had already sold two strikers to Atletico at a low price, Villa and Suarez, the former for a transfer fee of 2.1 million euros and the latter for 9 million euros.
Villa made the most of his spare time at Atletico, helping them beat their old club Barcelona to win the La Liga title in the 13-14 season, and in the Champions League that season, Atletico also eliminated Barca, and finally Atletico reached the Champions League final and finished runners-up. Suarez helped Atletico win the 20-21 La Liga title after leaving Barca to become an Atletico player.
Obviously, Villa and Suarez both slapped the face of their old owners at Atletico after being purged by Barca, and now Depay is also following this path. Compared to Villa and Suarez, Depay is younger, and his Atletico career may also be successful. Selling their players to domestic rivals is a taboo, but Barca made a series of mistakes and did not make much money. Look at Tottenham selling Kane, Barca really have to learn.