Atletico president stays coy on Reyes move

Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has refused to confirm if Jose Antonio Reyes is set to join Sevilla.

The 28-year-old has made no secret he wants to return to Sevilla after enduring a disappointing start to his fifth season at the Vicente Calderon.

Reyes asked coach Diego Simeone on Sunday to agree to his transfer, but Cerezo was noncommittal when asked about the player’s future.

“He is neither closer (to Sevilla), nor farther,” he told AS. “He is at Atletico, the club he is contracted to right now.”

“He trained (Monday) and he is still an Atletico player.”

Reyes – who made a big-money move from Sevilla to Arsenal in 2004 – has made 10 starts in all competitions for Atletico this campaign, failing to find the back of the net after scoring seven goals last season.

Cerezo revealed his high hopes for Simeone, who took the reins of the team following the dismissal of Gregorio Manzano in December.

“With Simeone a great source of hope has come,” Cerezo said.

“We hope that his appointment will begin to pay off on Saturday (in La Liga against Malaga) and that this team, which is a great team, will start winning and functioning well.”