Simeone remains in the dark on Griezmann's future
Diego Simeone remains uncertain whether Antoine Griezmann will finish the season with Atletico Madrid, which visits Real Oviedo in LaLiga on Sunday (AEDT).
Simeone confirmed earlier this week that Griezmann had held talks with Orlando City regarding the possibility of a move to Major League Soccer (MLS).
He then came off the bench as Atleti advanced to the Round of 16 of the UEFA Champions League with a thumping 4-1 second-leg victory over Club Brugge in a play-off in midweek.
Griezmann is the leading scorer in Los Colchoneros' history, having scored 210 goals in 481 games for the club, also supplying 89 assists across his two spells.
Twelve of those goals, and two of those assists, have come this season, with only Julian Alvarez (19) and Alexander Sorloth (16) having more goal involvements for the club since the end of last year's FIFA Club World Cup.
The MLS transfer window closes on 29 March, before reopening in July, and Simeone says he is still in the dark over Griezmann's future.
"I was quite clear the other day, when I was asked about it," Simeone said. "I'm not going to keep talking about it.
"We don't know what's going to happen. I'm not going to repeat how important Antoine is to us; we know that.
"We're talking to Antoine. He knows how important he is to us. We don't have to put pressure on him.
"We have to focus on what's ahead of us, which is great: Oviedo, Barcelona, Real Sociedad, then Tottenham [Hotspur]."
Atleti was paired with Tottenham Hotspur when the draw for the UEFA Champions League's Round of 16 was made, and speaking shortly afterwards, director of football Mateu Alemany said Griezmann remains focused on his football.
"Antoine has this season and two more years of contract with us, and he's absolutely focused on what's coming up," Alemany said.
"He's performing very well. We're thinking about him helping us tomorrow, on Tuesday and in the Champions League. All the rest is speculation."
Simeone's side is fourth in LaLiga and holds a six-point buffer over Real Betis in fifth ahead of the trip to Oviedo, which is bottom with just 17 points from 24 games.
