Balague fancies Griezmann to join United

Ian Watson

Antoine Griezmann is likely to join Manchester United if they qualify for the Champions League, according to Guillem Balague.

The Sky Sports pundit claims the battle for the Atletico Madrid star will come down to a choice between the Red Devils or signing a new contract with his current club.

Griezmann has been linked with United for months as Jose Mourinho looks to strengthen his attack. The 26-year-old spoke to French TV on Monday night, saying he hopes to have a decision made in the next fortnight and the likelihood of him moving to Old Trafford is “six out of 10”.

Balague believes much hinges on the outcome of Wednesday night’s Europa League final, with victory over Ajax in Stockholm offering United passage to next season’s Champions League.

“I’ve got the impression if United are in the Champions League, he will join them,” Balague told Sky Sports. “Manchester United are willing to pay the 100m euros (£87m) for his buyout clause.

“He perhaps sees Manchester United, in the medium term at least, as a candidate to win the Premier League and the Champions League, because of the money that will be invested into the side.

“He obviously wasn’t innocent when he said what he said to French television programme Quotidien. We’ve seen the images, and he quite clearly meant to do this. When he was asked out of 10 what the chances of going to Manchester United are, he said six.

“That number is not higher than six because he is waiting to see whether Manchester United make the Champions League.

“If they do not, he will still think about it. Meanwhile, what that means is that Atletico, who are preparing to offer him a new contract, have panicked and will put even more money on the table.

“He expects to choose between United and Atletico’s new contract.”