Atletico Madrid are expected to offer Antoine Griezmann a bumper new contract that contains an even more prohibitive release clause to prevent Manchester United from launching another bid to sign the French star next summer.
After spending months assessing the possibility of making a move for Griezmann, United made the shock admission today that their interest in the French forward had “cooled”.
Senior figures at Old Trafford said United are unlikely to sign Griezmann in this transfer window.
The United hierarchy were aware that Atletico would not sell Griezmann unless they triggered his £87 million release clause, and it now appears the club have opted against doing so.
United sources claimed the decision to ease off in their pursuit of Griezmann was taken because they had decided instead to pursue a target man in light of Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s long-term knee injury.
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United claim that when Ibrahimovic ruptured anterior and posterior cruciate knee ligaments against playing against Anderlecht six weeks ago, José Mourinho and Ed Woodward agreed that they should instead target a forward capable of leading the line instead of Griezmann, who operates slightly deeper.
There was scepticism about United’s claim, however, as the revelation about the club’s change of strategy in the transfer market came on the same day that the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that Atletico’s transfer ban should be upheld, meaning they will not be allowed to register new players until January 2018.
Griezmann owes a debt of gratitude to Atletico after they gave him the platform to become one of the biggest stars in European football. If the 26-year-old left now when they were unable to sign a replacement, it would seriously hinder the club’s ability to compete domestically and in Europe next season.
Enrique Cerezo, the Atletico Madrid president, had hoped to sign Alexandre Lacazette, the Lyons forward, and Chelsea striker Diego Costa, to replace Griezmann but they will not be able to do so this summer.
To make sure that Griezmann is not tempted to leave Atletico Madrid in the lurch, the Spanish club are expected to offer him a new contract that will see him increase his current wage from £115,000 per week to over £150,000 per week.
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That contract is also expected to contain an even bigger release clause in it than the £87 million one in his current deal. If United are unwilling to pay that figure now, it seems impossible that they will pay a bigger sum, possibly up to £100 million next summer, when he is one year older.
Everton are expecting United and Chelsea to go head to head in a battle for Romelu Lukaku, who would be a natural replacement for Ibrahimovic, in the coming weeks.
United would like to sign their new No 9 in time for him to play a part in their money-spinning pre-season tour of the United States of America. The club are also taking part in friendlies in Dublin and Norway when they return from America and any marquee signing, such as Lukaku, would generate even more interest in the club during the pre-season campaign.
Throughout his managerial career, Mourinho has always liked to operate with a focal point up front and even though he sold Lukaku to Everton while he was Chelsea manager in 2014, the striker would be a perfect fit for United.
United have been monitoring the progress of Lukaku, who scored 25 goals in the Premier League for Everton this season, for some time and Torino’s Andrea Belotti is also of interest. Spanish forward Álvaro Morata has also been linked with a move to United after failing to break into the Real Madrid first team.
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Fifa imposed a transfer ban on Atletico after the governing body ruled that the club had broken a number of laws regarding the international transfers of players under 16.
They were unable to sign any players in January and will not be able to do so this summer either.
Atletico vented their anger at CAS’ ruling this morning, accusing the court of double-standards as their rivals Real Madrid had their transfer ban for similar offences halved on appeal last December.
In a statement, Atletico said: “We consider that the decision to support the prohibition of registering players in a second period, corresponding to the summer of 2017, poses an unfair disadvantage and discriminatory treatment to our entity, since recently and in a similar case, the penalty was partially lifted, allowing to register players starting on July 1st. This ruling is unfair and causes an irreparable damage to our club.
“We want to reiterate that we have been penalised despite strictly complying with the Spanish legislation, as we have always processed all our licenses with Madrid’s Football Federation, as the Sports Law indicates.”
