Manchester City: Atletico rejected €85m offer for Gimenez
Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo confirmed Manchester City had an offer for defender Jose Gimenez turned down.
Atlético Madrid rejected a £78million (€85m) offer from Manchester City for Uruguay international José Giménez, a long-term target for Pep Guardiola, Enrique Cerezo confirmed.
Giménez, 25, has been linked with a move to City and AS reported earlier this month that Atlético had turned down a big-money offer from the Premier League club.
Atlético president Cerezo confirmed the LaLiga giants had received the offer from City, but wanted to keep the defender – who tested positive for coronavirus on Monday – at the Wanda Metropolitano.
Cerezo: "Giménez is a magnificent player"
"We did receive the offer," he told El Transistor. "But Giménez is a magnificent player and we are interested in having magnificent players in the team."
After finishing third in LaLiga last season, Atlético – who have agreed a deal to sign Barcelona star Luis Suárez – begin their new campaign at home to Granada on Sunday.
While the season is set to begin behind closed doors amid the coronavirus pandemic, Cerezo is hopeful fans will be back sooner rather than later.
"We are hopeful that the public will be able to return to the stadiums before the end of the season," he said.
"It is a difficult issue to control, but I think with the controls we have and with the good behaviour of the world of football, we will be able to continue this campaign well."