By Pete Jenson for MailOnline
Published: 22:00 BST, 19 June 2019 | Updated: 22:00 BST, 19 June 2019
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Diego Simeone has proved himself a great manager in seven years at Atletico Madrid, but rebuilding them almost from scratch next season might be too much to ask, even for him.
He is already pulling no punches about the size of the task. With 19-year-old Joao Felix on the verge of signing for a club record 120m euros, Simeone told Fox Sports that this was ‘the most difficult’ challenge he had faced since taking over the club.
‘There are a lot of players who have left and it’s a complicated moment of transition,’ he said. ‘Players with a lot of weight in the dressing room have gone but the objective is to keep competing.’
Diego Simeone faces his toughest test at Atletico Madrid as he must cope with key departures
The departure of three of the club’s most experienced players surprised no one this summer. Diego Godin was always going to move to Italy and Filipe Luis and Juanfran’s time had run its course.
What was not expected was that the younger generation would turn on their heels and head for the exit too. Rodrigo is going to be the new Sergio Busquets but he will not be doing it at Atletico.
Lucas Hernandez was going to be one of the new leaders in the club’s defence but he is set to move to Bayern Munich on July 1. Antoine Griezmann’s departure also seems to have hurt Simeone.
Antoine Griezmann is set to leave Atletico after scoring 133 goals in 257 games for the club
Defender Diego Godin announced last month that he will be departing Atletico
When naming players who have joined the club and improved, during that Fox interview, he said: ‘Well there’s [Jan] Oblak, who was not the player that he is now, and [Jose] Gimenez who is not the player he is now and Lucas Hernandez who is not the player he is now and … what’s his name? Griezmann, who is not the same player that he is today.’
Perhaps the ‘What’s his name’ was a genuine mistake, or maybe it revealed how hurt Simeone is that Griezmann has left the club that helped make him. It was also an interesting list.
Of the four players Simone named, only Jose Gimenez seems to be entrenched at the club determined to give something back to his coach and quite possibly replace Godin as captain and leader.
Lucas and Griezmann are both leaving and although Oblak is staying
