Only Griezmann can decide his future, says Gameiro

Kevin Gameiro hopes Antoine Griezmann rejects the chance to leave Atletico Madrid but says the final decision must be made by his team-mate.

Griezmann has been heavily linked with Manchester United and admitted last week the prospect of joining Real Madrid, Barcelona or Bayern Munich is tempting, although he has stressed he is happy at the Vicente Calderon.

Gameiro feels the 26-year-old is one of the best he has played alongside but is uncertain whether they will continue as strike partners next season.

Asked if he considered Griezmann his most talented team-mate, Gameiro told Omnisport: “I can’t say that because I played with [Zlatan] Ibrahimovic, [David] Beckham… great players at PSG.

“But Antoine is a great player and I think he can go even higher and I hope for him that he’ll do it. For me, it’s a pleasure to play with him. We have fun on the pitch, and you can see it every weekend.

“I hope that he won’t leave, but that’s his choice, and we’ll see what happens.”

Speculation also persists around the future of head coach Diego Simeone, who has been linked with a move to Serie A, but Gameiro is eager for him to stay on at Atletico.

“He teaches you a must-win mentality,” said the striker. “You can see his passion and he transfers it to us before games.

“He lives football, he eats football, he sleeps football. Since he arrived at Atletico, he has done great things. I have a lot of respect for him because he started from the bottom and he took this club to a very high level and I hope it will last a long time.”

Atletico reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth time in four seasons with a 4-2 aggregate win over Bayer Leverkusen, and they will meet Premier League champions Leicester City in the last eight.

“It’s a tough draw because if they’re here, it’s not because of luck,” said Gameiro. “We’ll have to stay focused and respect them ahead of the game. It will be up to us to give everything and not fail in this round.”

When it comes to the potential winners, Gameiro tipped Monaco – who beat Manchester City over two thrilling legs in the last 16 – as outsiders.

“They have the potential to win it, they have a very young team with a lot of skill,” he said. “They eliminated a great European team. We’ll see where they can go. They have to play Borussia Dortmund, who are not an easy team, but I hope they go as far as possible.”