Search icon

Football

19th May 2017

Antoine Griezmann reveals he’d only leave Atletico Madrid for New York

Start spreading the news...

Simon Lloyd

There are only two certainties in life.

One is that all living things will one day die. The other is that Manchester United will be linked with every half decent attacking footballer under the sun as soon as the end of the football season draws near.

This is very much the case once again, with various reports claiming that Jose Mourinho is planning to bolster his side’s attacking options with moves for Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez, Romelu Lukaku, Neymar, Kylian Mbappe, Sergio Aguero and Alexis Sanchez.

Another man said to be on United’s radar is Atletico Madrid forward, Antoine Griezmann. Because forking out an eye-watering transfer fee for one French international is simply never enough, Mourinho is expected to blow a significant wedge of his summer 2017 transfer kitty on the 26-year-old in the months ahead.

Unfortunately though, it doesn’t seem Griezmann is in any rush to make the move. Speaking earlier in the week after visiting the site of Atleti’s brand new stadium, Griezmann explained that he was satisfied with his life in the Spanish capital.

“I’m really happy at Atleti and now need to sit down with Miguel Ángel and my agent,” he said.

“I want to enjoy the present and don’t plan for tomorrow. I even struggle to remember our training timetable.

“I’m delighted to work with Cholo and really happy with my squad-mates. I plan to stay with Atlético as I’m happy here, just as I was on my first day at the club”.

And, as if he hadn’t already made his intentions of staying with Atleti clear enough already, he then jokingly revealed that he’d only ever leave the club to join NBA star Derrick Rose at the New York Knicks.

“I would only leave Atleti to play with Derrick Rose,” he is quoted as saying in AS.

For now at least, he looks to be staying put. Whether this changes if United can secure qualification to the Champions League by beating Ajax next Wednesday remains to be seen.

The FootballJOE quiz: Were you paying attention? – episode 10