Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone admits while Antoine Griezmann is not for sale, “we can’t keep him in chains” ahead of Sunday’s visit of Sevilla in La Liga.
The Frenchman has constantly been linked with a move to one of Europe’s heavyweights, despite speculation never amounting to anything beyond paper talk, and his Coach conceded he would be powerless to keep him if he wanted to leave.
“[Sevilla] are always very competitive,” he said at a Press conference.
“[Unai] Emery’s work is extraordinary because his players still compete in the way they do.
“They’ve changed their game a little, with the speed of [Kevin] Gameiro up top, [Ever] Banega behind him and Vitolo and [Michael] Krohn-Dehli on the wings.
“They’re a dangerous team on the break. They’ve moved away from [Fernando] Llorente and [Vicente] Iborra, whom have different characteristics.
“We’ll see tomorrow, but they’ll be closer to my first assessment.
“As we want to play on our terms, we can’t let [Sevilla] play between the lines.
“[On a possible takeover of Lens], I’m not aware of the situation.
“The sports management will respond with what suits us and deal with the relevant people in France.
“As for Griezmann, the sports management is working every day and speak to him and the people close to him on a daily basis.
“Yes, he’s not for a sale and a very important player for us, but we can’t keep him in chains.
“[On Fernando Torres], I have nothing to comment.”
