Griezmann: Atletico are among the best and I want to stay

Antoine Griezmann wants to pledge his future to Atletico Madrid, believing the Champions League finalists can prove they are the best side in Europe.

Diego Simeone’s men will attempt to become crowned kings of the continent for the first time in next Saturday’s Milan showdown with city rivals Real Madrid, which is a repeat of the 2014 final.

France forward Griezmann is a key weapon in their armoury, with seven of his 32 goals this season having come in the Champions League.

Such fine form has seen him attract interest from elsewhere, but Griezmann is keen to finalise a new deal at the Vicente Calderon before Euro 2016 kicks off next month.

The 25-year-old told AS: “I said Atletico was among the five best teams in Europe and the truth is that now we’re among the best two. Hopefully we’ll be the best in Europe.

“Atletico have given me an offer to carry on and I want to stay. I want to get it all sorted before the Euros so I can play in France with my mind at ease.”

Griezmann is likely to be joined in attack by Fernando Torres at San Siro and the Frenchman is enjoying their partnership, which he concedes was not always the case.

He added: “At the beginning it’s always hard. You don’t know the other player, how he loses defenders, if he likes the ball at his feet, in space, or if he plays one-twos.

“We lacked understanding at the start. The same thing happens to me with France. I’ve played a lot of games, but I still don’t know what [Dimitri] Payet, [Olivier] Giroud and [Karim] Benzema prefer.

“I try to give Fernando the ball in the best positions and he knows where the goal is. I hope he scores the winner in Milan.”

It was Griezmann who netted the decisive goal when the two sides last met, Aletico prevailing 1-0 in February’s clash at the Santiago Bernabeu.