Atletico need to beat Chelsea in London on Tuesday and hope Roma don’t beat Champions League debutants Qarabag in the Italian capital if they are to make the last 16 for a fifth consecutive season. But for his loyalty to Atletico and in particular coach Diego Simeone, Griezmann could have already been out the door last summer. “For months now my name has come out linked with Manchester United,” Griezmann wrote in his newly-released autobiography ‘Behind the Smile’. At the time Griezmann was on a barren run of eight games without a goal and, with no one else offering reliable back-up, Atletico’s Champions League campaign stalled with defeat to Chelsea and back-to-back draws with Azerbaijanis Qarabag. “I am with him to the death,” insisted Simeone back then before adding “as long as he is in my family”.

Source: The Express Tribune December 04, 2017 12:33 UTC