Inter respond to talk of Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone joining club | OneFootball

Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone has been at pains to express his deep love for the club in recent weeks, statements that have come not long after his future was called into question. Los Colchoneros were reportedly keen to extend his contract beyond 2027, but Sporting Director Mateu Alemany also appears to be putting in place alternative plans at manager should Simeone move on.

It seems almost unthinkable that Atletico would move on from Simeone after 14 years, given what he has done for Los Rojiblancos, catapulting them into a different tier in the European football hierarchy. Simeone is expected to one day coach elsewhere though, and has previously admitted that he would be keen to coach former club Inter. Earlier in the season, Simeone did not rule coaching in Saudi Arabia either.

Inter chief denies Simeone agreement

In Italy, there have been rumours that Inter have an agreement with Simeone for the Argentine to take over in the summer. However before their Champions League defeat to Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night, Inter President Beppe Marotta shut down the story live on Sky Sport Italia.

“Let’s call it fake news, without a doubt. There’s no point in even talking about it. We are extremely happy with [Christian] Chivu. He is proving with his actions that he is worthy of coaching Inter,” he told MD.

Image via Getty Images.

Despite their elimination in Europe, Chivu has Inter 10 points clear of closest rivals AC Milan. Being one of the best-paid managers in the game, Inter’s elimination seems unlikely to help any bid to sign Simeone.

“From an economic point of view, it would be important, but not significant, in the sense that today it’s a sporting event that honours Inter’s history, and we want to honour it in the best way possible. Of course, if we were eliminated, we would have to address the financial issues as we go along, but that’s not a problem.”

Who could replace Simeone?

At the time of writing, it looks highly probable that Simeone will remain at the club, with President Enrique Cerezo and CEO Miguel Angel Gil Marin reportedly keen to have Simeone see out the remaining two or three years of their tenure as power is handed to majority investors Apollo Sports Capital. That said, Alemany is reportedly enamoured with Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola and is also a fan of Villarreal’s Marcelino Garcia Toral.