What’s the story?
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann has given hope to fans that he might be staying at the club after his exclamation of joy right after scoring the crucial equaliser against Athletic club in their 2-2 draw last night.
French TV picked this up from the Frenchman as he exclaimed saying, “This is my home! Here!” The forward was not having a very good game right until that moment when he scored the goal for the Rojiblancos.
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Manchester United have been tracking the player for some time and are prepared to spend massive amounts of money in the summer to lure him to the club but it looks like their task might have gotten a lot more difficult.
In case you didn’t know...
Griezmann was rejected by several French clubs when he was just starting out as a footballer when his parents decided to move to Spain in search of a better opportunity. He spent 5 years at Real Sociedad before moving to Atletico in 2014.
He is only behind Messi and Ronaldo in the scoring charts when considering the total of the past three seasons. This season he hasn’t completely hit peak form having scored only 8 goals in 18 appearances.
The heart of the matter
Since the beginning of the season, there has been a lot of speculation about Griezmann’s future at Atletico Madrid. Having finished third to Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi in the Ballon d’Or standings he was left wanting more.
His close friend and French teammate Paul Pogba is also a big factor in this story. Griezmann had stated previously that he would love to play alongside the Manchester United midfielder in an interview last year.
But that might not be happening anytime soon given what he said after scoring that goal. He would also cost United a fortune considering he is one of the best players in the world right now.
What’s next?
Even if Griezmann has supposedly made up his mind, Atletico Madrid cannot afford to keep slipping up in the league if they are serious title contenders. A lack of silverware is usually the reason for big stars to leave and look for opportunities elsewhere.
Real Madrid the league leaders, currently have an 8-point lead over their city rivals and it will take something incredible for Atletico to catch up to Los Blancos.
Sportskeeda’s take
Despite Griezmann’s declaration the move still has a good possibility of going through in the summer. It all hinges on whether the Frenchman will be swayed by higher wages. Right now his heart is at the Vicente Calderon but Atletico will have a fight on their hands this summer.
