Simeone ignoring reports Griezmann negotiated Barca commission while at Atletico

Diego Simeone dodged questions relating to Antoine Griezmann on Friday after reports claimed the France international negotiated a €14million signing-on fee with Barcelona while still an Atletico Madrid player.

Griezmann joined Barca in July when the Catalan club deposited the €120m to activate his release clause, which had dropped from €200m at the start of that month.

It brought an end to prolonged speculation about the attacker’s future, though Atletico were adamant Barca and the player had struck some form of deal before July, meaning they felt they were owed a further €80m.

Barca insisted they only began negotiations in July, but Spanish newspaper El Mundo claimed on Thursday they had obtained evidence suggesting Griezmann discussed a commission in March.

Simeone was unwilling to address the matter in his pre-match news conference ahead of Saturday’s visit of Celta Vigo, however.

 Already thinking about #AtletiCelta !
  https://t.co/AFkmBCApMM
#AúpaAtleti pic.twitter.com/K94hH305gl

— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) September 19, 2019

“I’m thinking about Celta, I’m not interested in anything else,” he told reporters.

“With all due respect to you, I understand the questions, but honestly, after playing on Wednesday we use the time to think about Celta.

“They have a reinforced team, the talent they have, the arrival of Rafinha, the presence of [Santi] Mina that creates an important attack. We are more focused on that.

“I understand your objective, but I’ve got mine.”

New Atletico signing Renan Lodi received his first senior Brazil call-up on Friday, with the left-back having caught the eye during his early days at the club.

Convocação da #SeleçãoBrasileira ! 

LATERAIS:

Daniel Alves – @SaoPauloFC
Danilo – @juventusfc
Alex Sandro – @juventusfc
Renan Lodi – @atleti
#JogaBola #GigantesPorNatureza pic.twitter.com/sfWa2y8F2W

— CBF Futebol (@CBF_Futebol) September 20, 2019

Although he was shown a red card on his LaLiga debut, he appears to have made the spot on the left of defence his own and Simeone is pleased with the 21-year-old’s impact.

“He has been doing a great job since the first day he arrived,” Simeone said. “He has extraordinary attributes that will grow with work.

“Hopefully he can maintain this situation of wanting to improve and I’m happy he’s been selected by the national team.”