Inter have been served a blow in their pursuit of Diego Simeone after the Atletico Madrid boss reiterated he would still be at the Spanish side next season.
The Serie A giants are looking to appoint a new manager for next season after sacking Stefano Pioli at the start of the week with just three games of the current campaign remaining.
Simeone has previously spoken of his desire to manage Inter and return to the club where spent two years as a player between 1997 and 1999, but the Argentinean has no interest in leaving Atletico just yet.
“The fact that I am here to present this tournament [the Audi Cup, a pre-season tournament due to be held in the summer] is a clear signal about my permanence,” Football Italia quote Simeone as saying.
“I’ll see you in July the Audi Cup. We are happy to be competing in this tournament against teams like Liverpool and Bayern Munich who we will surely encounter next season’s Champions League.”
Simeone made the decision in September to cut his Atletico deal by two years so that it expires at the end of next season, which sparked questions about his long-term commitment to the Spanish giants.
Atletico were knocked out of the Champions League to Real Madrid for the fourth season in a row earlier this week and it does appear El Cholo has taken the club as far as he can, although he seems determined to see out the remaining 12 months of his contract.
Since taking over as Atletico boss in December 2011, Simeone has won 62.8% of his matches as manager.
For more stats on Inter, click here to visit their WhoScored team page
