"El Cholo is a gentleman and will be with us for some time"

Atlético Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has stated his belief that the club can count on the services of manager Diego Simeone because the Argentinean "is a man of his word." The Atlético chief also said that the club has no intention of selling any players during the transfer window and that it is "practically impossible" that any further reinforcements will arrive at the Calderón following the incorporation of Fernando Torres and Cani.

"Simeone has a contract that still has three years to run. He is a gentleman and a man of his word. We will have El Cholo with us for some time," Cerezo said on Directo Marca. Cerezo added that the club is "delighted" with the squad at Simeone's disposal.

"We have a magnificent team and we don't have any kind of problem with any of the players. Mario Suárez, while I'm still here, will stay. He is an important player for Atlético," the president added in reference to interest in the midfielder from abroad.

Of Atlético's chances of winning either the league, Champions League or Copa del Rey, Cerezo stated that Simeone was counting on his entire squad to see the side through a tough second half of the season, despite interest from Valencia in taking youth academy star Saúl Ñíguez on loan.

"We had to make a great effort, in sporting terms, to beat Real Madrid [in the copa]. I hope the result [against Barcelona] is also good. The best games of the past few years have been between Atlético and Barça and we both want to win to reach the semi-finals. The tie is balanced 50-50, but Barcelona were better than us in the league match."

"The league isn't as easy to win as in other seasons," Cerezo concluded. "Last year there were three teams in it, this year there are five fighting for the title. There are years when you can't win. We are in a good situation at the moment and hopefully at the end of the season we will still be."

from Últimas noticias | Diario AS http://ift.tt/1J84KJx

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