Griezmann will leave Atlético if right offer comes along – Simeone

Antoine Griezmann will be allowed to leave Atlético Madrid if the right opportunity comes along for the France forward, according to the head coach Diego Simeone.

Simeone said he would not stand in the way of any of his players if they want to leave to develop their careers, and that could open the door for the 26-year-old – who has reportedly been on the radars of Manchester United, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain in recent seasons – to leave in January or next summer.

“Of course he can leave at some point, like Diego Costa and Arda Turan did in their day,” Simeone told L’Equipe. “I love watching my players grow, and if one of them tells me that they have the unique opportunity of playing for a certain team, after they did everything they could for me, like Griezmann has done, I’ll say it’s not a problem. I know that he needs to grow.”

A world-record move to United was heavily mooted last summer but Griezmann said it would be a “dirty move” to leave Atlético then, shortly after a transfer ban was upheld against the La Liga club.

The club will again be able to sign players in January but were unable to move for Alexandre Lacazette last summer, who ended up joining Arsenal. Griezmann, who won the Golden Boot at Euro 2016, is under contract with Los Rojiblancosuntil 2022 and is thought to have a release clause of around €100m (£87m) in that deal. Guardian UK