Antoine Griezmann has been heavily linked with Manchester United in the past couple of days and It has been rumoured that the Red Devils are ready to part with a whopping £86 million in order to sign the striker. This figure was thought to be his release clause, but according to Spanish publication okdiario.com, his release clause is slightly higher at £95 million. As a result, United may be forced to stump up more in terms of transfer fees if they want to bypass Atletico Madrid’s involvement in this transfer.
A number of statements seem to indicate that the French striker is on his way to Old Trafford in the summer. Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone claimed that he will not stand in the way of his players if they want to move elsewhere. It is seen as a widespread hint that the manager would not try to persuade Griezmann into staying at the Vicente Calderon. Part of the reason could be Atletico’s recent decline. After being a title contender in the last couple of seasons, the club are now facing a major fight just to finish in the top four – a position which will only provide access to Champions League qualifier, not the actual group stages.
Griezmann signed a new contract with Atletico only in June and it is believed that the club placed this release clause in order to convince the players to stay at the club. Griezmann was linked with a move away from the club even as early as in the summer and Paul Pogba is thought to be a key factor in trying to convince the player to join the Red Devils, as the midfielder has a great friendship with Griezmann. However, it turns out that Pogba’s world record transfer fee could be eclipsed if Griezmann moves to United for £95 million.
After recently watching Wayne Rooney finally score his record breaking 250th goal for Manchester United, Jose Mourinho would finally be able to relax and let in the player leave the club in the summer. While it was initially thought that Griezmann would be a replacement for Zlatan Ibrahimovic, whose contract runs out in the summer, it seems that United are contemplating the idea of offering a fresh two-year contract to Ibrahimovic after watching the 35-year-old perform better than any other player in the team.
Ibrahimovic has already scored 14 league goals and is one of the top scorers in the division. Griezmann, on the other hand, has not hit the same heights of last season and has only managed eight league goals in 18 appearances. However, he has failed to score in only one of the last six games.
