Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has reiterated that two of their star performers, manager Diego Simeone and attacker Antoine Griezmann will not leave the club despite increasing rumours linking them to Chelsea.
The Atletico Madrid president also claims Antoine Griezmann is now a “star” of world football and the club haven’t yet received any approaches for the French forward.
Griezmann in enjoying an outstanding form for La Liga outfits Atletico this term, with 12 goals in La Liga guiding his team to mount a serious title challenge.
The 24-year-old France international has reportedly attracted interest from the Stamford Bridge hierarchy, but Cerezo has now revealed no-one has placed a bid for the forward.
“Griezmann is a global football star,” Cerezo told RMC.
“Griezmann has a long-term contract, and no-one has spoken to us about a possible transfer.
“He is a world football star and he still has plenty of time with us.
“And Atletico will allow him to go as high as possible.”
However, after netting 25 times in 54 appearances in an impressive debut season in 2014/15, Griezmann’s performance graph has followed a steep upward curve this term. The 24-year-old French marksman has managed to net 4 times as many La Liga goals as any of his Atletico team-mates with 12, and he is now just seven short of his overall tally for last season after 29 matches.
Argentine coach Diego Simeone has also been linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid, mostly to Premier League strugglers Chelsea as the Blues owner Roman Abramovic regards him the next manager who take charge after Hiddink, but Cerezo insists the Argentine will be staying in Madrid.
“We have a coach who has a winning culture,” he also said. “Simeone has offered us come incredible years.
“The mood of everyone is that Diego continues with us.
“He has a long-term contract, and for us he is very important.”
This is not the first time Diego Simeone has been linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid, with his title-winning exploits in 2014 inevitably resulted in similar speculation over the transfer windows. But he rejected all the lucrative offers and last year signed a new deal to stay with his current side which runs until 2020.