It’s been coming, and now it appears that Antoine Griezmann has officially told Atlético Madrid that he wants to leave during the upcoming transfer window.
Already teasing Manchester United fans across the globe by stating there was a 60% chance he could sign for the Premier League club this summer, as well as revealing he was thinking of leaving during his book launch press conference, reports from Spain are now adamant he wants to leave.
According to Antonio Ruiz for COPE in Spain, the France international, currently on duty with his national team, has told the club this is the time for him to move on to greener pastures.
ATLÉTICO DE MADRID | @RuizAntonito: “Griezmann le ha transmitido a la zona noble del club que quiere salir”.
— Deportes Cope (@deportescope) May 30, 2017
Of course, that doesn’t mean the transfer to Manchester United is a done deal, even if it seems likelier, as Ed Woodward still needs to reach an agreement with Atlético Madrid regarding the transfer fee.
Considering the forward has a release clause of €100m, that is what he is likely to go for.
At this stage, even if Griezmann were to stay, his attitude over the past few weeks hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Atlético Madrid faithful, and quite a few of them are now rather keen for him to leave if he doesn’t want to be there.
The €100m they are expected get for him would help them rebuild a squad for Diego Simeone, who looks like he will stay on at least until the end of the 2017/18 campaign. It’s getting warmer and warmer, that’s for sure.
It’s worth noting that whilst some insist COPE are reliable, every summer it feels like that has to be insisted a little more strongly after the previous summer’s claims.
