Simeone targets Atletico growth after new deal

Diego Simeone says Atletico Madrid must look to continue along the same path after he agreed a new long-term contract at the Vicente Calderon.

Simeone is now tied to Atletico until 2020 after winning plenty of silverware since arriving in 2011.

Having helped the reigning Spanish champions to domestic and European success in recent seasons, Simeone is clear what the immediate future should look like for Atleti.

Asked about the club’s aims, he told reporters: “To be at least, for the next three years, in third place or better and to have economic stability that allows us to grow in sporting terms.

“It is not going to be easy, because our rivals, in this case Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, grow as well – they work hard. 

“But we have to stay on our path. We have to try and grow in sporting terms, of course growing accordingly to what our budget allows. But our path is clear, to improve every year.

“I think this is the best thing the club has, very clear ideas. This allows us all to push forward in the same direction.”

Atletico look set to relinquish their Liga title this season – they trail Barcelona by nine points with 10 games remaining – although Simeone maintains the future looks bright. 

“We don’t think about the team we’ll have next year, we think about the team we have today,” he added.

“We think about making the most out of [Fernando] Torres’ arrival, about having Raul Garcia at his best level, in the daily improvement Raul Jimenez is showing, in [Mario] Mandzukic’s moment, about [Antoine] Griezmann, who is very close to scoring more goals than he has ever scored before.

“These are the players who will carry us to the goals we need to achieve.”