The long transfer saga involving Antoine Griezmann has taken another twist after the Frenchman ruled out a move to local rivals and La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Griezmann has been constantly linked with a move away from Atletico Madrid this summer with Jose Mourinho desperate to improve his attacking options. And now with Real Madrid out of the way, completing his transfer will prove to be much easier.
Griezmann scored a late equaliser in the recently concluded Madrid derby to secure a vital draw for Atletico Madrid. While he said he is happy at Atletico Madrid and hopes to stay there, his most recent quotes at least rule out one club in the race for his signature.
Also read: Zlatan Ibrahimovic hints that he could stay at Manchester United
"Interest from Madrid? I can't say 'yes' or 'no'. You never know what can happen in football, but moving from Atletico to Real, I don't know if it's achievable. Very few players have done so. For this reason, I think it's dead," The Sun quoted Griezmann as saying.
Recent reports said that Real Madrid wanted to add him to their squad in the 2018 summer transfer window but selling their best player to their biggest rivals will be the last thing Atletico Madrid will do. Very few players have moved directly across Madrid in either direction. Bernd Schuster was the most high-profile one when he moved from Real Madrid to Atletico in 1990.
Manchester City and Chelsea have also been linked to Griezmann at times, but Manchester United remain the frontrunners for his signature. Mourinho is expected to spend a lot of money to revamp his Manchester United squad and wants to start with his forward line.
The Red Devils have been overly dependent on Zlatan Ibrahimovic for goals this season and Mourinho is hoping that changes when they sign Griezmann. He is valued at £86 million at the moment but if more clubs come after him, Atletico Madrid could ask for more money and his transfer fee could surpass that of his compatriot Paul Pogba.
The Frenchman has scored 80 goals and has registered 24 assists since joining Atletico Madrid from Real Sociedad for £25 million. Since then he has gone on to establish himself as one of the best forwards in the game but does not have a lot of trophies to back it up yet.
A move to Manchester United will certainly help him add trophies to his name as Mourinho looks to take Manchester United to the top of world football once again.
Check out some of Antoine Griezmann's best skills and goals from this season so far.
