Atletico Madrid are considering reporting Paris Saint-Germain to FIFA for contacting manager Diego Simeone regarding a possible switch to the French club.
Simeone has been in charge of Atletico for just over three years, and during that time he has engineered one of the most amazing renaissances in European football. Under his leadership, Los Colchoneros have won a Europa League title, the UEFA Super Cup, Spanish Supercopa, Copa del Rey and a La Liga title – while also finishing as Champions League runners-up last season.
The 44-year-old Argentine is one of the most sought-after managerial properties in the sport and his name has been mentioned with a host of European suitors.
Simeone was rumored to be considering taking a year sabbatical (à la Pep Guardiola) in order to recharge his batteries and learn English before making a switch to England. But last month the manager told Radio America 1190 that he would be happy to remain at the club provided it continues to grow both on and off the pitch.
Shortly after that statement, Atletico Madrid announced that it had reached an agreement with Chinese businessman Wang Jialin which allowed his company (Dalian Wanda Group) to purchase a 20% stake in the Spanish club.
With their manager tied to the club until June 2017, Atletico Madrid are understandably upset after learning that Paris Saint-Germain have contacted Simeone about replacing their under-fire boss, Laurent Blanc.
PSG president Nasser Al-Khelaifi has reportedly been losing patience with Blanc and has begun looking for possible replacements for the Frenchman after backing him earlier this season.
According to the Spanish publication AS, a representative of the Qatar Investment Authority (PSG’s owner) has contacted Simeone and offered the Argentine double his current salary with the view to signing him next season.
Since Simeone has an existing contract with Atletico Madrid, PSG would have wait until the manager was inside the last six months of his contract in order to contact him, or get approval from the Spanish club first before opening negotiations. But it appears none of this has taken place and the French champions would be seen to have breached FIFA regulations.
Atletico officials are currently considering whether or not they should report the Parisian club to world football’s governing body.
