Diego Simeone remains unsure whether Antoine Griezmann will finish the season at Atletico Madrid, who will visit Real Oviedo in LaLiga on Saturday.
Simeone confirmed earlier this week that Griezmann had held talks with Orlando City about the possibility of a move to MLS.
He then came off the bench as Atleti advanced to the last 16 of the Champions League with a resounding 4-1 second-leg victory over Club Brugge in Tuesday’s play-off.
Griezmann is the top scorer in Los Colchoneros history. He scored 210 goals in 481 appearances for the club and also provided 89 assists in 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 goals for the club since the end of the Club World Cup.
The MLS transfer window closes on March 29 before reopening in July, and Simeone says he is still in the dark about Griezmann’s future.
“I was very clear about it recently when I was asked about it,” Simeone told reporters on Friday. “I’m not going to keep talking about it.
“We don’t know what will happen. I’m not going to repeat how important Antoine is to us; we do know that.”
“We are talking to Antoine. He knows how important he is to us. We don’t have to put pressure on him.”
“We have to concentrate on what lies ahead, which is great: Oviedo, Barcelona, Real Sociedad and then Tottenham.”
Atleti were linked with Tottenham when the draw for the round of 16 of the Champions League took place on Friday. Shortly afterwards, football director Mateu Alemany said Griezmann remains focused on his football.
“Antoine has this season and two more years under contract with us, and he is absolutely focused on what is going to happen,” Alemany said.
“He is performing very well. We think he will help us tomorrow, Tuesday and in the Champions League. The rest is speculation.”
Simeone’s side sit fourth in LaLiga and have a six-point cushion over fifth-placed Real Betis ahead of Sunday’s trip to Oviedo, who are bottom with just 17 points from 24 games.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Real Oviedo – Federico Vinas
Vinas has been involved in three goals in his last two LaLiga games for Oviedo (two goals and one assist), the same number as in his previous 18 league appearances this season (three goals).
Atletico Madrid – Antoine Griezmann
Griezmann has scored against 33 of the 35 opponents he has faced in LaLiga, only failing against his current club, Atletico Madrid (12 games) and Oviedo (one).
Only five players have scored against 34 or more different teams in the competition: Lionel Messi (38), Raul (35), Aritz Aduriz (35), Karim Benzema (35) and Julio Salinas (34).
MATCH PREDICTION – ATLETICO MADRID WIN
Simeone will oversee his first away match against Real Oviedo in LaLiga. The Argentine has won against 31 of the 32 teams he has previously faced away from home in the competition, only failing to win against Racing Santander (D1).
Oviedo have not won any of their last four LaLiga games against Atletico (D2 L2), their longest winless streak against the Rojiblancos in the league since December 1993 (P5 D1 L4).
And after their 2-0 win at home in November 2025, Atletico could score a double against Oviedo for the eighth time in LaLiga.
Friday work pic.twitter.com/tUMgNE3k0E
— Atlético de Madrid (@atletienglish) February 27, 2026
They have previously achieved the feat in 1949-50, 1964-65, 1972-73, 1975-76, 1991-92, 1992-93 and 1997-98, but never with two clean sheets in a season.
Although Simeone’s side are favourites, this is unlikely to be easy as his side have failed to win any of their last three away games in LaLiga (D2 L1).
Oviedo have lost just one of their last seven LaLiga games at the Carlos Tartiere Stadium (W1 D5), a 1-2 defeat to Athletic Club in their last home game on February 15.
OPTA CHANCE OF WINNING
Real Oviedo – 21.4%
Atletico Madrid – 52.2%
Draw – 26.4%
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