Report: Diego Simeone in negotiations with Paris Saint-Germain

Over the past few days, the Madrid press has seemed more optimistic about the future of Diego Simeone. Atlético Madrid's manager is on vacation in Miami according to AS and has been communicating with technical director Andrea Berta regarding plans for next season. Earlier this week, Marca reported that Atlético's board is relaxed about their first team manager's future and want to provide him the world-class forward he seeks. Once Simeone had some time to unwind and, as he said, reflect, everything would be ok. The top-drawer striker he wanted would be acquired and Atleti would kick off the final season at the Vicente Calderón ready to challenge on all fronts.

According to information Yahoo gleaned from a source in Qatar, Nasser Al-Khelaifi has just begun negotiations with the coach of Atlético Madrid Diego Simeone. The chairman of PSG took the lead on this issue and is personally managing the discussions.

Wait a minute. This doesn't sound right.

That comes from a Yahoo Sport exclusive report published late Thursday night. It comes on the heels of an explosive interview Al-Khelaifi gave to Le Parisien, in which he said "this is the time to change." Apparently, Al-Khelaifi is most dissatisfied with the job Laurent Blanc has done as Paris Saint-Germain boss (despite handing him a new deal in February). Otherwise, the report says pretty much what you see above: someone close to Qatar Investment Authority has let it leak that PSG want the best manager in Europe at the helm.

Caveats apply here: this is just one report and the Spanish press will surely contradict it in the papers the next couple days. However, the spectre of Simeone walking away from Atlético continues to loom. It would be somewhat surprising to see him depart for PSG, a club with which he had no connection as a player, but it would send a very clear message as to his managerial ambitions.

In the meantime, let's wait and see. There's surely more to come.