I'm not Leaving Atletico Now - Griezmann

Atletico Madrid attacker Antoine Griezmann has said his
head is not being turned by reports he could leave the club
for another European giant.

The France international, 24, has been linked with the likes
of Chelsea, Real Madrid, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain
in recent times, but he has told RMC that Diego Simeone’s
influence at the Vicente Calderon means that he is not
seeking to depart.

“When the coach tells everyone that you are one of the best
players in the world, it gives you even more desire to stay. I
don’t look elsewhere and I think about it even less,” he said.

On Saturday afternoon, Atleti will play a top-of-the-table
encounter against Barcelona at Camp Nou, and Griezmann
is aware of the importance of the match for his side, who
lost ground in the race for the title as they were held against
Sevilla last weekend.

“We know it will be important to take something at Camp
Nou,” he continued. “Against Seville, we tried but we did not
have the success we usually do. But we work well during
the week and we'll see what will happen.

“Teams often have a loss of power; there are moments like
that in the season. I watched Barcelona’s game against
Malaga, where they struggled, but Leo Messi made the
difference.

“MSN can do everything. At the Calderon, we did not see
Neymar during the match, then he took a free kick and
scored, and Messi came off the bench and scored too.”

Griezmann, meanwhile, does not see him at the level of the
Ballon d’Or winner yet.

"I don’t think I’ve reached my best,” he admitted. “I think it’ll
come with age, with the matches I'm going to play, I'll gain
more experience and improve myself both offensively and
defensively.”