Atlético de Madrid joins the FIFA Football line with two Pops and two opposite paths. Jan Oblak (#122) has guarded the club's goal for twelve seasons. Julián Álvarez (#121) spent the summer asking to leave.
A summer spent wanting out
During the 2026 World Cup, the Argentine striker didn't mince words: for him, a transfer was "the best thing for everyone." Barcelona made a formal approach, so did Real Madrid, and Atlético's leadership refused to negotiate, backed by Simeone. Álvarez returned to training in August, under contract until June 2030, in what the Argentine press described as a tense atmosphere.
He arrived from Manchester City in 2024. Two seasons later, he had 106 games and 49 goals in red and white. On his Pop he wears the 19, a headband in his hair and the ball at his feet. Funko freezes a player everyone is waiting on, to see whether he'll still be there next summer.
Oblak, the man who never left
Oblak arrived from Benfica in July 2014, after only two Portuguese league games. Twelve years later, he has passed 500 official games for Atlético, he is the most capped goalkeeper in the club's history and the foreign player who has worn the shirt most often. He has won five Zamora trophies, awarded to La Liga's least-beaten goalkeeper, and the 2020-21 La Liga title.
His Pop shows him in a black kit, the 13 on his back, the ball tight in his gloves. It's the simplest possible pose for a goalkeeper, and it suits him: Oblak's career is twelve years of saves without unnecessary show.
Atleti on the box
Both boxes read "Atleti," the club's nickname, rather than its full name. They are Atlético's first two figures in the line, numbered 121 and 122, a few weeks after the Bayern Munich and Liverpool waves.
Our take: Oblak first
I'm taking Oblak, no hesitation. A player Pop is a snapshot, and most of them age fast: one transfer and the figure tells the story of an era that's over. Oblak's has the opposite advantage. It captures a player who has embodied Simeone's Atlético for more than a decade, and who may well finish his career there.
Álvarez is the risky bet of the pair. If Barcelona comes back next summer, that striped shirt will be a souvenir before most collectors even receive it. Funko went for the squad's most marketable player, even at the risk of watching him go.
The gap jumps out right away: Diego Simeone. Funko made a Pep Guardiola (#106) Pop for Manchester City. Simeone has been on Atlético's bench since December 2011, he backed the refusal to let Álvarez go this summer, and he still has no figure. Launching Atlético without its coach means launching the club without its face.
Both figures are up for pre-order, with release announced for January 2027.
