Antoine Griezmann has been appointed vice-captain for Atletico Madrid following a restructure in the wake of Gabi Fernandez’s exit.
First-team captain Gabi has been replaced in the primary role by Diego Godin with Griezmann one of three vice-captains alongside midfielder Koke and long-serving defender Juanfran.
The move is being reported as a further sign that the French forward, who turned down advances from Barcelona this summer to sign a new-contract, wishes to spend the best years of his career with Atleti.
The 27-year-old joined Los Rojiblancos from Real Sociedad in 2014 and has scored 112 goals in 209 appearances for Diego Simeone’s side.
1-0 defeat in front of their home fans was not what Atletico Madrid wanted as they wrapped up their pre-season, but they just couldn’t unpick Inter’s defence in Saturday night’s International Champions Cup match.
Lautaro Martinez’s excellent goal just past the half-hour mark was enough to settle this fixture, even if it wasn’t enough for the Italian side to leapfrog Tottenham at the top of the competition’s standings.
Just 11 minutes into the first match at the Estadio Wanda Metropolitano since the summer, the Atleti faithful were treated to a familiar sight as Jan Oblak made a terrific block to deny Mauro Icardi, who shot from just beside the penalty spot.
At that point it seemed as though this match might burst into life, but it didn’t really and the only other event of note from the opening half hour was the designated water break.
But in the 31st minute Inter conjured up a goal, with Lautaro Martinez racing to the back post and launching a boot at Kwadwo Asamoah’s cross, wonderfully converting past Oblak.
The home side responded well, with Filipe Luis having a shot inside the area and with Los Colchoneros actually putting the ball in the back of the net in the 43rd minute, however Angel Correa’s goal was ruled out by VAR for offside – he was indeed ahead of the last defender when he received Koke’s pass.
Atletico were even better after the break, with Diego Costa heading just over the bar, Juanfran having a close-range shot blocked and the 10 outfield substitutes adding extra energy, yet they still couldn’t break down the Inter defence and finished the match with just one shot on target – an 89th minute Vitolo header – and a sour defeat.
The real business gets underway for Atletico on Wednesday when they take on Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup, and when they’ll hope to at least test the goalkeeper, especially if it’s Thibaut Courtois.