Diego Simeone has played down talk that Antoine Griezmann and fellow club superstars will all flock to leave Atletico Madrid after their early Champions League exit.
The Argentine boss saw his La Liga outfit crash out at the group stages following a 1-1 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge, with Antonio Conte’s side and Roma moving into the last-16.
Having reached the Champions League final in two of the past four seasons – losing to bitter rivals Real Madrid on both occasions – it’s come as a big surprise that Simeone’s men fell at this stage.
The attention quickly turned to whether Atletico would be able to keep hold of their top players, with Griezmann’s future a particularly prevalent topic in recent times.
The former Real Sociedad attacker was believed to be incredibly close to a move to Manchester United in the summer before deciding to remain in Spain, but the 26-year-old is still tipped for a move to Old Trafford.
But Simeone insists he is not concerned by any of his key players rushing for the exit door.
When asked if he was worried about the break up of his squad after crashing out of the Champions League, he defiantly responded: ‘No.
‘On the contrary. It is a new challenge.
‘Everything that is bad, we make it into a positive.’
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