Chelsea and Manchester City overtake Real Madrid in transfer race

Chelsea and Manchester City still have a shot at Antoine Griezmann

Antoine Griezmann may yet secure a transfer to Chelsea or Manchester City this summer. Unfortunately for Real Madrid, their rivalry with Atletico will cost them any chance at securing the services of the talented Frenchman.

Griezmann himself ruled out a potential move to Zinedine Zidane’s club by questioning whether or not such a move would be “achievable.” It’s safe to say that Atletico officials abhor the idea of sending Griezmann to their crosstown rivals. It’s likely they’d accept a lesser fee to send their talisman out of Spain altogether.

Of course, Diego Simeone’s preference would be to hang on to Griezmann. Him remaining with Atletico is still a distinct possibility. The club are in good financial shape and don’t necessarily need to part with their prolific goal scorer this summer.

Then again, when Chelsea and Manchester City are interested in your star it’s a safe bet that a gigantic transfer offer is forthcoming. Atletico may feel compelled to sell Griezmann is they receive a transfer offer in excess of £80 million. A bid of that size is a distinct possibility with these two Premier League rivals in the race.

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In my estimation, the real question is whether or not a record-setting bidding war emerges between English powers. While City and Chelsea are the clubs mentioned most prominently in the latest report, you can’t count Manchester United out of the race either. Jose Mourinho would like nothing better than to defeat Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte in their quest to sign Griezmann.

With United in the mix, it’s very possible we’ll see a transfer bid in excess of £100 million. At that price, Atletico would be fools not to sell. They could strengthen quite a few areas of their squad with that sort of transfer budget. It would truly allow Simeone the opportunity to drastically remake his roster.

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Real Madrid will need to look outside of town to sign a big name attacker this summer. Antoine Griezmann will not become the most hated player in Atletico history by moving to Los Blancos. That means the path is clear for Premier League powers to engage in transfer warfare for Griezmann’s signature.