Manchester: Antoine Griezmann has given the clearest indication yet that he will join Manchester United this summer, as Wayne Rooney prepares for what is likely to be an emotional end to his Old Trafford career when the club face Ajax in the Europa League final on Wednesday.
The Daily Telegraph reported in March that United would trigger the £85 million (Dh405.8 million) release clause in Griezmann’s contract with Atletico Madrid once their season was over, and the Frenchman has admitted that negotiations over a move to Old Trafford were 60 per cent complete.
Asked on the French television show Quotidien about the prospect of joining United, Griezmann admitted it was “possible” and said he expected his future to be resolved in the next fortnight. And when presenter Yann Barthes asked him to confirm how talks with United were progressing, with 10 the equivalent of a done deal, Griezmann replied: “Six.”
Whether any deal hinges on United securing qualification for the Champions League by winning the Europa League remains to be seen, since Griezmann also claimed on the same show that there was a seven out of 10 chance that he would stay at Atletico. Griezmann is due to marry his fiancee Erika Choperena in Madrid this weekend and plans to go on honeymoon once France’s games against Paraguay, Sweden and England next month are completed.
— The Telegraph Group Limited, London 2017
