Atletico Madrid midfielder Augusto Fernandez says he hopes Diego Simeone is not considering leaving the club despite his comments after Saturday's Champions League final.
Simeone was downbeat at his postmatch news conference in Milan after his side had been beaten 5-3 on penalties by Real Madrid, just two years after they had suffered similar heartbreak when losing the Champions League decider 4-1 in extra time to their city rivals.
The Argentine coach told reporters on Saturday that he "needed to think" about what had happened and refused to confirm that he would stay for next season.
Simeone -- who has said he is keen to take charge at Inter Milan at some stage in his career -- has not spoken in public since, fuelling fears at the Estadio Vicente Calderon that he might feel he has taken the team as far as he can and resign after four-and-a-half years in the job.
Simeone's agent and sister, Natalia, was reported to have visited the Calderon on Tuesday afternoon, although neither she nor anyone at the club confirmed any meeting. Later that evening, around 3,000 Colchoneros supporters attended a rally outside the stadium aimed at convincing him to stay at the club.
"Simeone stay!" Watch as thousands gather at the Cálderon to show support ?https://t.co/Yg0OBtdjMn pic.twitter.com/DSdG1NQdo5
- AS English (@English_AS) May 31, 2016
Speaking from Argentina's national camp ahead of the Copa America Centenario in the United States, Fernandez said he hoped that the coach's remarks after the final were not an indication of his true feelings.
"I hope that what Simeone said was just in the heat of the moment, not a decision he has taken," the Argentina international said. "He knows what he means for the club. He is a symbol of the institution, and for sure he will make the best decision for the club and for him personally. Obviously as a player I want him to stay on."
Simeone's Atletico have beaten Madrid in the Copa del Rey final at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, won the La Liga title at Barcelona's Camp Nou, and this season beat both Bayern Munich and Barcelona in the Champions League.
However, in each of the last three years they have suffered dramatic defeats to Real in Europe, and Simeone said at San Siro: "Nobody remembers the ones who finish second. To lose two finals is a failure."
Fernandez said Simeone, who also starred for Atletico as a player, had simply been voicing what everyone connected with the club had felt.
"He was right in that nobody remembers the runner-up," the former Celta Vigo midfielder said. "The blow was a tough one, it hurts a lot. What he said was what we all feel."