Simeone ignoring reports Griezmann negotiated Barca commission while at Atletico

Media reports on Thursday claimed Antoine Griezmann negotiated his Barcelona move in March, but Diego Simeone refused to discuss it.

Antoine Griezmann's summer move to Barcelona brought an end to prolonged speculation about the attacker's future.

Diego Simeone dodged questions relating to Antoine Griezmann on Friday after reports claimed the France international negotiated a €14 million signing-on fee with Barcelona while still an Atletico Madrid player.

Griezmann joined Barca in July when the Catalan club deposited the €120 million to activate his release clause, which had dropped from €200 million at the start of that month.

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It brought an end to prolonged speculation about the attacker's future, though Atletico was adamant Barca and the player had struck some form of deal before July, meaning it felt it was owed a further €80 million.

Barca insisted it only began negotiations in July, but Spanish newspaper El Mundo claimed on Thursday it had obtained evidence suggesting Griezmann discussed a commission in March.

Simeone was unwilling to address the matter in his pre-match news conference ahead of Saturday's visit of Celta Vigo, however.

"I'm thinking about Celta, I'm not interested in anything else," he told reporters. "With all due respect to you, I understand the questions, but honestly, after playing on Wednesday we use the time to think about Celta.

"They have a reinforced team, the talent they have, the arrival of Rafinha, the presence of [Santi] Mina that creates an important attack. We are more focused on that. I understand your objective, but I've got mine."

New Atletico signing Renan Lodi received his first senior Brazil call-up on Friday, with the left-back having caught the eye during his early days at the club.

Although he was shown a red card on his La Liga debut, he appears to have made the spot on the left of defence his own and Simeone is pleased with the 21-year-old's impact.

"He has been doing a great job since the first day he arrived," Simeone said. "He has extraordinary attributes that will grow with work. Hopefully he can maintain this situation of wanting to improve and I'm happy he's been selected by the national team."