GRIEZ: I DIDN’T TALK WITH JOSE

ATLETICO Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann insists he has had no contact with United manager Jose Mourinho as speculation mounts over a possible transfer next year.

Griezmann, 26, claimed in May there was a 60 per cent chance he could sign for the Reds in the summer but the Court of Arbitration for Sport’s decision to uphold Atletico’s transfer ban the following week convinced Griezmann to stay with the club.

Atletico have already re-signed Diego Costa in the event Griezmann angles to leave next year and United have not ended their interest in the France international, who was reunited with compatriot Paul Pogba in Paris last week.

Griezmann appeared on French television station Telefoot at the weekend in a Q&A with Paris SaintGermain striker Kylian Mbappe and was directly asked if he had spoken to Mourinho. He simply replied: “No.”

Reports in the summer claimed Griezmann personally telephoned Mourinho to explain his decision to stay with Atletico but he denied those claims.

“No, no, no. No, that’s totally made up. False. It was my decision. I communicated it to the club. That’s it,” he said in July.

“I have stayed mainly because of the transfer ban. Atletico needed me now more than ever and I felt I had to stay. It would be dirty to leave.

“I wouldn’t have been myself, or the person that I feel I am today, if I had left this club in that way.”

United special: Pages 42-44