Arsenal’s Champions League elimination of Atletico Madrid condemned Diego Simeone’s side to a fifth straight season without silverware, inevitably raising questions over the Argentine coach’s future.
Asked if he had the strength to continue after Tuesday’s defeat in London, Simeone’s answer was an unusual one.
“Not now, definitely not now,” Simeone said, leaving doubts over his intentions this summer.
There have been similar queries put to Simeone over the years, 14-and-a-half of them, since he took over at the helm of the Rojiblancos.
Usually they have surfaced in moments like these, painful knock-outs, that Atletico have suffered repeatedly. None hurt more than the two final defeats by rivals Real Madrid in 2014 and 2016.
Simeone almost walked away after the second of those, on penalties at the San Siro, admitting it would be difficult to lift the players mentally after such a crushing blow.
Those matches came in the early years of Simeone’s reign, Atletico’s best period.
The seasons since have largely been frustrating, despite landing La Liga in 2021, even though the task of competing with Spain’s two giants, Barcelona and Real Madrid, is a difficult one.