The long transfer saga involving Antoine Griezmann's future at Atletico Madrid looks to have come to an end after Vincent Rodriguez, a former FIFA-accredited agent, revealed on Twitter that an agreement is in place between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United.
"A financial agreement between Atletico Madrid and Manchester United regarding the signing of Griezmann has been met. More to break soon!!" Rodriguez said on Twitter.
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Reports early on in the season suggested that Jose Mourinho made Griezmann his no.1 summer transfer target and the Frenchman has been linked with the Red Devils on numerous occasions this season. Mourinho is looking to make Manchester United one of the most dominant clubs in Europe again and signing Griezmann will go a long way in helping him achieve that.
Griezmann's adviser Eric Olhats claimed that Manchester United were the first club to make an approach for the Atletico Madrid forward and that their interest was the "most concrete interest." Earlier this year, Griezmann said that he was happy at Atletico Madrid and that no amount of money would make him leave but his adviser said that was false.
A financial agreement between Atlético Madrid and Manchester United regarding the signing of Griezmann has been met. More to break soon!!
— Vincent Rodríguez (@VRodriguezlaw) 24 April 2017
Eric Olhats (Griezmann advisor): "Manchester United inquired & told us their project. They were first & most concrete interest."
— Vincent Rodríguez (@VRodriguezlaw) 23 April 2017
The likes of Chelsea, Manchester City, Barcelona and Real Madrid have also shown an interest in signing Griezmann but Olhats claims that Manchester United are leading the race for him. A possible transfer to Real Madrid was put to rest by Griezmann himself saying that very few people have moved from Atletico to Real, so that move is dead.
"We're at the stage of gathering information from clubs who have a concrete interest. There is an unavoidable €100 million (about £85 million) clause so that restricts the number of candidates. You have Manchester United, Manchester City, Chelsea, Barcelona and Real Madrid. United were the first to come and see us and the most concrete in their wishes," Olhats told French television programme Téléfoot.
Any official confirmation from Manchester United, Atletico Madrid or Griezmann himself will have to wait until the end of the season, but given Manchester United's financial power they could make the deal happen. The French forward has a release clause of €100 million and that should not be a problem for Manchester United.
However, if Mourinho and his men fail to qualify for the Champions League, Griezmann could change his mind and stay at Atletico Madrid or join another club.
