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Tag: Diego Simeone

  • Atletico Madrid rule out signing Ronaldo

    Atletico Madrid rule out signing Ronaldo

    Atletico Madrid will not be signing Portugal forward Cristiano Ronaldo and that decision is final, club president Enrique Cerezo said on Friday.

    Speaking at the presentation of defender Nahuel Molina, Cerezo said the newly-recruited Argentina international was “the last piece” of the jigsaw.

    That means Diego Simeone’s squad is complete as far as Cerezo is concerned.

    Molina has joined from Udinese, and Atletico Madrid have also brought in the likes of Samuel Lino and Axel Witsel to plump up their ranks.

    This was after Luis Suarez, Sime Vrsaljko and Hector Herrera moved on.

    “With this signing…we have managed to fit the last piece we were looking for,” said Cerezo.

    “I repeat, for the journalists, with this signing we have managed to fit the last piece we were looking for.”

    The emphasis spoke of how Cerezo wants to move on from the links to Ronaldo, after a group of Atletico Madrid supporters declared their steadfast opposition to his potential arrival.

    Cerezo had already said any deal to bring Ronaldo to Atletico Madrid from Manchester United was “practically impossible.”

    Ronaldo, who is Real Madrid’s all-time record goalscorer, appears to be set on leaving Manchester United after the Red Devils failed to qualify for the 2022/2023 UEFA Champions League.

    It has been reported that Sporting Lisbon, Ronaldo’s first major club, could be a possible destination for him after scoring 24 goals across all competitions for Manchester United last season.

    German champions Bayern Munich have ruled themselves out of contention.

    Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Ronaldo and his agent Jorge Mendes were at Manchester United’s training ground on Tuesday for talks over his future.

    Atletico Madrid will face Manchester United in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, with the 37-year-old Ronaldo unlikely to play any part.

  • Keane wants Diego Simeone to take charge at Man Utd

    Keane wants Diego Simeone to take charge at Man Utd

    Manchester United legend Roy Keane has urged the club to recruit Diego Simeone.

    Reports have claimed Simeone could end his long association with Atletico Madrid this summer.

    The two clubs faced off in the Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, drawing 1-1 at Wanda Metropolitano.

    And Keane would like to see Simeone at Old Trafford once Ralf Rangnick’s interim spell concludes at season’s end.

    The Irishman said: “You go and get the manager you want.

    “You should go and get the right manager you think is right for your club.

    “Never mind making excuses saying he’s not available for two years.

    “You pay fortunes for players, so why not a manager?

    “I don’t care who’s under contract. If you think he’s the right manager for Manchester United, well you go and get him.

    “It can soon change. I don’t think it’s all doom and gloom, there’s still good things going on at United, but they’ve got to get the manager.

    “If the manager is not right, then the rest will just fall apart.”

  • Suarez, Felix shine as Atletico Madrid defeat Osasuna in LaLiga

    Suarez, Felix shine as Atletico Madrid defeat Osasuna in LaLiga

    Struggling LaLiga champions, Atletico Madrid recovered from their shock midweek defeat by basement club Levante, with a comprehensive 3-0 thrashing of Osasuna on Saturday.

    Strikers Joao Felix, Luis Suarez and Angel Correa were on target to lift Diego Simeone’s side to fourth spot with 42 points from 25 games.

    They are 12 points adrift of leaders Real Madrid and three ahead of Barcelona, who will have a game in hand following their match against Athletic Club on Sunday.

    “A great effort from everyone,” Simeone said postmatch.

    “The team showed huge commitment. We were lucky to score early.

    “They’re a very difficult team. We were lucky in the first half that their chance that hit the woodwork didn’t level the game.

    “In the second half, our clinical counter-attacks gave us the possibility to win the game, at a difficult ground.”

    The goal would have come as a huge relief to Felix as he had been struggling to gain Simeone’s trust and was making only his third start in Atletico’s last 15 league matches.

    He rifled in a rebound from a corner in the third minute and after the break assisted Suarez, who scored the second when he lobbed rival goalkeeper Sergio Herrera from 40 yards.

    Correa completed the rout with a lightning fast last-minute counter attack.

    Felix said: “Yes I’m happy, we’re all happy. We played a bad game the other day as we all know but you get games like that.

    “We knew how to turn the situation around, the dressing room is united. We’re all together, looking for our objective. We’re improving and we have to carry on like that.”

    Manchester United are next up for Atletico in the Champions League knockout stages.

    “We’ll rest now, we’ve had some tough games in a row, we have four days now to prepare the Manchester [United] game and we’ll do it with a lot of responsibility,” Simeone said.

  • We tried to sign Messi at Atletico Madrid – Simeone

    We tried to sign Messi at Atletico Madrid – Simeone

    Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has admitted they tried signing Leo Messi as he left Barcelona for PSG in August.

    It was always going to be a long shot, but El Cholo had to find out if a dream collaboration with his compatriot might be a possibility. Los Colchoneros’ middle-man in the short-lived operation was none other than Luis Suarez, a close friend of Messi’s.

    “I’ll tell you something, when all that happened at Barcelona, we called Luis [Suarez] with nothing but respect,” Simeone told Ole magazine.

    “I didn’t call Leo [Messi], but I did call Luis and I asked him about how [Messi] was, what he was thinking if there was the slightest, hypothetical chance that he might come to Atletico Madrid.

    “But that lasted all of three hours. Paris Saint-Germain were clearly obsessed with bringing him in.”

  • Simeone named Coach of the Decade ahead of Mourinho, Guardiola

    Simeone named Coach of the Decade ahead of Mourinho, Guardiola

    Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has seen off competition from the likes of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho to be declared Coach of the Decade.

    The fiery Argentine has this week had the honour bestowed on him by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS), after the numbers had been crunched on his last 10 years in the Spanish capital.

    Simeone has come out on top against the likes of Guardiola, Mourinho and his main rival Zinedine Zidane, despite having just one league title to show for his time at Atletico so far.

    In a statement the IFFHS noted: ‘Simeone realised a great performance with his club Atletico Madrid in this decade: 1 LaLiga title, 1 Copa del Rey, 1 Super Copa Espana, 2 UEFA Europa League titles, 2 UEFA Super Cup titles and 2 times Runner-Up in UEFA Champions League Finals.

    ‘His regularity and his power made the difference to win the Award of the Decade 2011-2020.’

     

  • Atletico v Marseille: Diego Simeone banned for Europa final

    Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has received a four-match Uefa ban and will be absent from the touchline when his side face Marseille in the Europa League final on 16 May.

    Simeone was found guilty of insulting a match official during the first leg of Atletico’s semi-final at Arsenal.

    The 48-year-old was sent to the stands after Sime Vrsaljko’s early red card.

    He served the first match of his suspension as Atletico completed a 2-1 aggregate win on Thursday.

    It is not the first time that the Argentine, who was also fined 10,000 euros (£8,800), has been in trouble.

    In 2014, he was banned by the Spanish Football Federation for eight matches for his behaviour in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

    He got a four-game punishment for tapping the fourth official on the back of the head after a heated exchange during Atletico’s 2-1 aggregate win over Real Madrid, and a further sanction for protesting, applauding a red card and not leaving the field.

    In 2016, he was given a touchline ban for the final three La Liga games of the season after appearing to instruct a ball boy to throw a ball on to the pitch to disrupt a Malaga attack during an Atletico victory.

    Uefa’s control, ethics and disciplinary board also fined the club 10,000 euros after fans threw objects on the pitch at Emirates Stadium.

  • Diego Simeone hopes to keep Griezmann at Atletico Madrid

    Diego Simeone hopes to keep Griezmann at Atletico Madrid

    Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone is hopeful a strong finish to the season will convince Antoine Griezmann to stay at the club.

    Manchester United were interested in signing the French international last summer, while Barcelona have emerged as favourites to sign him at the end of this season, when his buy-out clause drops from €200m (£177.79m) to €100m (£88.9m).

    Atletico currently trail Barcelona by 12 points in the race for the La Liga title, though they have a game in hand against Real Sociedad on Thursday.

    Simeone’s side are also in the Europa League semi-finals, where they will face Arsenal in the first of two legs on April 26, and the Argentine hopes Griezmann can yet be persuaded that his future ambitions can be realised at the Wanda Metropolitano.

    The Argentine said: “I hope that he can see in our training sessions that this is a team who will keep growing and continue to improve, the best thing for a player is to see he is growing alongside the team.

    “So, if we end this season fighting for La Liga until the end of the season with Barcelona and get into the Europa League final, it will be a strong season for us.

    “That will count in his decision, for sure. We have to give him our all as a team and give him the motivation he needs so that when it’s time for a decision, he opts to stay with us.”

    Griezmann, 27, has scored 19 goals and added eight assists in 28 La Liga appearances this season.

    Sky Sports