Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann has revealed that he is close to making a decision regarding his future with the World Cup looming.
The French forward has been the subject of intense transfer speculation for the last 18 months or so, with Manchester United and Barcelona both most strongly linked.
A move to Old Trafford was highly anticipated last summer, but was scuppered by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), who upheld a transfer ban for Los Rojiblancos meaning that they were unable to sign any players until January 2018.
While that wouldn’t have prevented players leaving the Wanda Metropolitano stadium, the former Real Sociedad star announced that it would be a ‘dirty trick’ to leave the club while they couldn’t sign a replacement.
Since then, Manchester United’s interest has seemingly cooled slightly, especially given they recently handed the number 7 shirt to Alexis Sanchez, but La Liga champions Barcelona are thought to be leading the way for his signature.
Griezmann is currently with the French national team, preparing for the World Cup in Russia, but speaking after his countries 3-1 win over Italy, he was asked about a potential transfer:
“Yes, it will be done before the competition,” said Griezmann, who scored one of the goals in the Friendly in Nice.
While Barcelona are still the front runners for his signature, reports recently have suggested that he could actually stay with the Europa League winners.