Manchester United are keeping their famous number seven shirt available for Antoine Griezmann according to a report today.
The Daily Star claim that United are confident that they can man their man either in January, or next summer, and will keep their famous old jersey available for him for when he eventually makes the move to Old Trafford.
Griezmann was initially linked with a move to Manchester United back in 2013 during David Moyes’ fateful tenure, while the winger was still playing his trade with Real Socieded. However, he decided against a move to the Premier League at that stage, choosing to stay in Spain by completing a €30m move to Atletico Madrid.
Since then, Griezmann has developed into one of the games top talents for both club and country. He was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United this summer, even publicly describing his chances of making the move as 6/10 as he teased United fans around the world.
However, Atletico Madrid’s failure to overturn their transfer embargo, which prevents them from signing players until January, saw Griezmann stay loyal to the Rojiblancos, calling it a ‘dirty trick’ to leave the club at such a difficult time. He then followed that up by signing a new contract with a €200m release clause to deter any clubs making a bid.
However, that release clause was only valid until the end of August, and it has now returned to its original €100m, which compared to the likes of Neymar, Dembele and the failed Coutinho bid, is a relative steal in this current hyper inflated market.
United are expected to return with an offer in January, although could wait until summer to finally land their man, when they will then give him their famed number 7 shirt.
The number 7 holds great significance to Manchester United fans, with some of the club’s greatest ever players donning the famous shirt. George Best, Eric Cantona, David Beckham and Cristiano Ronaldo have been its most famous and successful owners, while Angel Di Maria showed glimpses of excellence during his short time wearing it too. However, in recent years it has seemingly weighed heavy on the shoulders of some, with Antonio Valencia, Michael Owen and most recently, Memphis Depay all having less than impressive times wearing the shirt.
Jose Mourinho hopes that Griezmann will be its next great owner.