Atletico de Madrid manager Diego Simeone says one of the Real Madrid or Barcelona jobs would be “impossible” for him, while he does not believe the other appointment would happen.
Asked whether he could manage either of the Spanish giants in the future, the Argentine gave an unusually brief answer: “One of them is certainly impossible. As for the other, I don’t think so.”
Simeone has been in charge of Atletico for 15 years and says the club’s rise during that period has brought a significant increase in expectations. The 2014 La Liga title ended an 18-year wait for the championship, while Atletico won the league again in 2021.
“Previously, winning was a source of happiness, but now it has become a source of relief,” Simeone told Mundo Deportivo.
He admitted that the success established during his tenure has also created greater pressure.
“I am suffering now because we have taken the club to a place where we are more exposed to pressure, with expectations rising to a very high level, and as a result our responsibility has become enormous. Having a good season is no longer enough,” he said.
Atletico reached the semi-finals of the Champions League last season, lost the Copa del Rey final on penalties and finished fourth in La Liga. Simeone believes those achievements have made it difficult to satisfy supporters without delivering silverware.
“We must reach the Champions League final, win the Copa del Rey and finish in one of the top two places in a competition that includes Real Madrid and Barcelona,” he said.
The 54-year-old insisted he still has the energy to continue leading Atletico and outlined the areas he wants the team to improve this season. The club must “recover the defensive solidity that we have lost, especially in the Champions League”, while also working to “increase the contribution of our midfield players to scoring goals”.
“I still believe that we are capable of pursuing what our supporters want, which is to win trophies. We will give everything we have to achieve that,” Simeone added.
He said Atletico must narrow the gaps between their league titles, pointing to the progress made since his arrival.
“When I arrived at Atletico, the club had not won the league since 1996. Then we won the title in 2014, 18 years later. We became champions again in 2021, after seven years. The team must reduce those periods further,” he said.
Simeone did not set a timetable for how long he intends to remain at Atletico. He also stressed that he is not trying to surpass the lengthy managerial spells of Arsene Wenger at Arsenal or Alex Ferguson at Manchester United. Wenger spent 22 years with Arsenal, while Ferguson was at Manchester United for 27 years.
“I am only thinking about the energy, strength and humility we need in order to be here,” Simeone said.
The former Argentina midfielder also underlined the difficulty of competing in Spain, where Atletico operate behind the financial and sporting power of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
“We are at a club competing with two superpowers (…) We are now in a special place, but the teams behind us want to compete with us,” he said.
“At Atletico you must always be fully focused and at 110%, because 100% is not enough to win in Spain. You have to improve every day and not lose your humility, because the teams behind us continue to develop.”
Simeone also left open the possibility of managing Argentina at some point in the future, saying that it could happen “later”.
He praised Argentina’s performance at the most recent World Cup and the work of national team manager Lionel Scaloni, describing Scaloni’s contribution as “enormous”. Simeone nevertheless acknowledged that Spain had been the better side in the final.
