Bharath Rammr
Manchester United have been pursuing Atletico Madrid superstar Antoine Griezmann for several months. The French striker has also responded by claiming that he would one day like to play regularly alongside his international teammate, Paul Pogba. Yet, the transfer may not come cheap with the striker is expected to cost in the region of his €100 million buyout clause (ESPN). United are ready to activate the clause in the striker’s contract, although they may now look at the situation once again after Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone claimed that he will not stand in the way of the player if he decides to leave the Vicente Calderon.
“I don’t tie anybody down. I simply work in order to continue getting better for the good of the club. Simeone was quoted by ESPN
“He [Griezmann] is in an extraordinary moment. He is working well, he has got back on the score sheet.
“He is currently in great form and it’s normal that the top clubs in the world want him. I’m not surprised that those that can afford him are seeking him.”
In the past, Atletico Madrid have sold many of their top strikers even when they were at the peak of their careers. In fact, Griezmann himself was brought as a replacement for Diego Costa when the Spaniard joined Chelsea in the summer of 2014 for around £32 million. At that time, Costa was an integral part of the club’s title challenge. Even though Atletico’s league position has not been lofty since Griezmann has come to the club, he has certainly provided the goals required to win the title. This quality has appealed a lot to United, who are understood to be searching for a long-term replacement for Wayne Rooney and Zlatan Ibrahimovic.
Ibrahimovic may be rocking the Premier League goal scoring charts with 14 goals in his debut campaign, but he is 35 years old and may not continue carry on playing for long. Rooney appears to have lost his confidence as a striker and has been played a role in a number of positions. Even though he is close to beating Sir Bobby Charlton’s club record when it comes to the maximum number of goals, it may be a possibility that he would be shipped out in the summer. It would depend on the arrival of Griezmann.
Any club that would like to hold on to such a big player, but Simeone says that he would only like to keep players who want represent Atletico. If it means even selling the best player who does not want to stay at the club, it could be made possible according to the Argentine manager. A major chunk of the transfer rumours surrounding Griezmann erupted after Simeone was thought to be considering his future at the club after more than 6 years. He was appointed as the boss in December 2011 and has since taken the club to great heights by winning the league title ahead of Barcelona and Real Madrid. The club also reached the Champions League final twice, but ended up losing both matches.
Griezmann’s only major title is the Spanish Super Cup with Atletico.
