Simeone: Griezmann is Atletico's captain, exit talk does not worry me

Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is not worried about rumours linking Barcelona with a move for Antoine Griezmann.

The Argentine feels that the Frenchman is aware of his importance to the squad and mentioned the fact that he still has two more years on his current deal as a reason why he is unfazed about the speculation.

"Griezmann is our captain, he is important, I am not worried at all," Simeone told 90 Minutos on Fox Sports.

"He has everything to continue growing. But I am not in his body, so he will see.

"He has two more years on his contract," he added.

The actual Atletico Madrid captain, Diego Godin, has announced that he will be leaving in the summer.

"The club are working on replacing Godin and to continue on the same path.

"There are many who we are working on, I will not mention names.

"Someone with these characteristics will arrive, not identical because there are no two players who are identical," he stated.

As well as a centre-back, Atletico will have to bring in new full-backs with Lucas Hernandez off to Bayern Munich and the contracts of Juanfran and Filipe Luis set to expire at the end of the season.

"The full-backs are the most important," Simeone said.

"If you have good full-backs then you have a great chance. If not, you will have problems.

"It is the most difficult position of all. The full-backs give life," he mentioned.

Asked about fellow Argentine Nicolas Tagliafico, who plays at left-back for Ajax, Simeone admitted interest but feels the player is unavailable.

"He is a player with many characteristics who would suit our team well, but I heard that he has renewed (his contract) with Ajax for one more year," he stated.