Diego Simeone has spoken about Antoine Griezmann's future in an interview with the Madrid newspapers Marca and Diario AS.
Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have held talks about a swap deal involving Griezmann and Saul Niguez but Simeone says he wants the French forward to be a success at Camp Nou.
"I have a nice relationship with Griezmann beyond just the sporting relationship, given my kids play with his," Simeone explained.
"Beyond what he gave Atletico, I want things to go well for him at Barça. He is an extraordinary player. At Barça. having seasons lacking consistency, he's not dropped below 20 goals a season.
"They are good numbers and I hope we can see the player we've see at the Euros, the World Cup and in the five years with us at Atletico. I don't want anything other than for him to succeed at Barça."
However, Simeone did say "there are positions to improve" at Atletico and "we need a striker."
He added: "If Griezmann doesn't come, another will. The club will decide what's best financially. We have to analyse the situation and act appropriately. We've spoken about several players. We're working on a forward to increase the internal competition."