Diego Simeone called Julian Alvarez "one of the best in the world" despite the Atletico Madrid player not being nominated for FIFA's The Best award.
The forward scored 17 goals and provided four assists in LaLiga last season, while also directly contributing to eight goals in 10 Champions League matches (seven goals, one assist).
Despite his contributions to Atleti's attack, it was not enough for Alvarez to earn a spot on the 11-player shortlist for The Best award.
Simeone, however, paid no attention to that, rather praising Alvarez's quality and choosing to focus on Atleti's upcoming clash against Levante instead.
"I'm not the one who makes those decisions, for us, he's a very important player, one of the best in the world," said Simeone.
"We have him and we have to take care of him. I hope he continues to give us what he is giving us.
"With a lot of respect, I focus on Levante, they work well defensively, they have fast people from midfield moving forward.
"We have to take the game to where we can hurt them. I can't imagine another game that is not like the ones they have played against us as visitors before."
Levante are currently 16th in LaLiga, 12 places behind Atletico, after winning just nine points from their opening 11 matches.
They have failed to win any of their last three matches in Spanish top flight, but they did progress to the third round of the Copa del Rey with a win over Orihuela.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Atletico Madrid – Giuliano Simeone
Giuliano Simeone has been in fine form for Atletico of late, grabbing an assist during their 3-1 victory over Union Saint-Gilloise in the Champions League on Tuesday.
The Argentine has also provided four goal assists in his last six LaLiga matches, as many as in his previous 30 matches in the top flight, and he will be keen to make an impact again here.
Levante – Etta Eyong
Eyong has been involved in six of Levante's last 11 goals in LaLiga (five goals and one assist), scoring the last two away from home.
The last player to score three consecutive goals for the Granota side away from home in the competition was Jose Luis Morales in October 2021 (four in a row)