April 26, 2008 5:51 PM

SOURCE:
goal.com

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No Move For Lucho Or Kameni Due To Club Rule

Atlético de Madrid's sporting director has revealed that any speculation linking players to or from his club are wrong because there is a mandate in place to hold no talks in the last ten weeks of the season.

Jesús García Pitarch was reacting to mounting rumours connecting several star names to either joining Los Colchoneros in the summer or leaving to join other clubs.

Maxi Rodríguez is said to be on Liverpool's agenda and there have been suggestions that an informal approach has been made, but García Pitarch was adamant that the speculation was untrue.

"In January we rejected holding meetings with various parties that were interested in our players. Atlético is a club that is improving and that means that we have to keep the players we want," he told AS.

Carlos Kameni has also been linked with a move to Vicente Calderón and it was the mention of the latest rumour surrounding Atlético that led the director to admit to the new rule.

"There has been a lot of talk about Kameni and about the other players that have been mentioned. I have a mandate from the club that I cannot start talk with anyone during the last ten games of the season," he continued.

"The reason is that we do not want to make the same mistakes as the past few seasons when there has been added pressure on the squad from agents and the press about the following year."

Despite explaining the reason why there had been no movement, García Pitarch amicably talked about each rumour individually starting with talk of an approach for Porto's Lucho González.

"We watched teams all the time and have seen PSV, Roma, Porto and others in recent weeks. I did not watch Porto for anyone in particular," he said.

José Antonio Reyes' future has also been said to be up in the air after the former Arsenal and Real Madrid has not enjoyed the best start at Atlético. "I have never felt that Reyes is worse than Robben or Joaquín. One must be patient with José Antonio because there have been problems with his integration, but nobody is doubting his football ability," García Pitarch said.

"He has learned to cope with the fact that he cannot play all the time. There are five players here for two positions. But that happens in big teams. Sometimes when players are not regulars their form suffers.

"I am convinced that he wants to stay here. We cannot change eight or ten players every season. There were people that questioned the signing of Agüero and even of Simão in the past, but every player needs time to settle."

The sporting director also reiterated that coach Javier Aguirre will stay for at least another season should Atlético qualify for Europe and that no other coach has been thought about.

"He has another year on his contract if the team qualifies for Europe. I want to clarify that it is completely false that we have spoken to any other coach," he added.

Finally, García Pitarch explained that he wanted Thiago Motta to have another year at the club despite having to undergo surgery three times during his first term after joining Barcelona.

"It is down to Barcelona, but the club want Motta and he is keen to stay with Atlético. We would like him to be here for another year and he wants to," he concluded.