Diego Simeone: 'Raul Jimenez left with Atletico Madrid's blessing'

Atletico Madrid boss Diego Simeone has firmly denied that Raul Jimenez departed the Spanish outfit in the summer after a bust-up with the management team.

Jimenez, 24, joined Atletico from America in the summer of 2014, but spent just one season at the Vicente Calderon before moving on to Benfica.

It had been claimed that the Mexican international left on bad terms, but Simeone has insisted that is not the case.

"Nothing bad happened with Raul, quite the opposite. I like him as a person and a player. He had to compete with [Fernando] Torres, [Mario] Mandzukic, [Antoine] Griezmann and [Raul] Garcia," Simeone told reporters.

"I'm not surprised he's scoring goals. I'm happy for him, because he's a player who left with good memories."

Atletico will face Benfica in Portugal on Tuesday evening to determine who will top Group C in the Champions League.