£88m Man Utd target signs new contract, but mere 12-month delay before move

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Atletico Madrid have officially confirmed that Antoine Griezmann has signed a new contract until 2022, but it’s not enough to dismiss transfer talk.

The 26-year-old has firmly established himself as one of the top players in Europe since his move to Atleti in 2014, scoring 83 goals in 160 games for the Spanish giants.

In turn, speculation has been rife over his future for some time. However, he has seemingly committed his future to the club by signing the new contract, at a time where Atleti are banned from signing players this summer and needed loyalty to be shown by the French international.

He’s done his part as far as this summer is concerned, but according to The Sun, it’s only going to delay the eventual transfer to Man Utd for another year.

It’s claimed that while Griezmann has received a huge pay rise to earn £235,000-a-week, his release clause has remained at £88m, which ultimately leaves the door open for Jose Mourinho and Man Utd to make their move again.

United have since switched their focus to Alvaro Morata this summer as they need immediate reinforcements following Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s release, but the Sun seem pretty convinced that they’ll be knocking on the door of Atleti to enquire about Griezmann again in 12 months time.

Based on the Frenchman’s comments though after signing his new deal, it doesn’t sound as though he has any intention of going anywhere.

“The first thing I want to do is apologize to the fans who have misunderstood my statements,” he told the club’s official website. “Maybe I expressed myself wrongly or some have wanted to make headlines where there were none, but since I arrived I’ve given everything for my club, my teammates and my coaching staff and I’m very happy to stay with all of you.”

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