revealed he rejected a potential move to the English
Premier League in favour of joining the La
Liga champions.
The Croatia international, who joined Atletico from
Bayern Munich in a deal worth €15 million in the
summer, was heavily linked with Premier League
trio Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool.
Mandzukic rejected more lucrative offers to link up
with the ingenious Diego Simeone at the Estadio
Vicente Calderon, and understandably so.
Under Simeone, Atletico pulled off the impossible,
holding off both Barcelona and Real Madrid to win
La Liga, while also reaching the UEFA Champions
League final only to lose to their bitter inner-city rivals.
It was a magnificent campaign for Atleti, which ultimately paved
the way for Diego Costa and Filipe Luis to join Premier League
giants Chelsea.
"I had better offers than from Atletico," Mandzukic said.
"There were calls from the UK that interested me, but I believe
that their style of football is simply not my way. There were also
interest from Italy and some concrete offers from Russia.
"I'm very pleased with everything. I couldn't choose a better
path after leaving Bayern Munich. The fans here accepted me
immediately.
"Atletico was the best possible decision for me at this stage of
my career."
The former Dinamo Zagreb star added: "Simeone was the key to
me coming to Atletico.
"His style and passion, with so much success, they are the things
that inspire me. I love guys like him, he's a real fighter, direct
and transparent who is not fake and always says what he really
thinks."
Mandzukic has tallied five goals in 11 appearances in all
competitions for Atletico madrid this season.
Sent from my BlackBerry® wireless handheld from Glo Mobile.
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