Atletico Madrid have taken a big step towards signing Cristiano Ronaldo by putting up for sale star striker Antoine Griezmann.
Diego Simeone would like the Manchester United superstar returns to La Liga, but his club must free up space on their wage bill to facilitate a deal.
Reports earlier this week claimed Ronaldo’s agent had been in touch with Atletico to offer the services of his most high-profile client desperate for an escape route from Old Trafford.
Ronaldo does not intend to stoop to playing in the Europa League next season and has missed United’s entire campaign for the season, citing family issues.
New manager Erik ten Hag has failed to convince last season’s top scorer with 24 goals to return to training and it remains unclear whether he will join the first team in a fortnight with the new national campaign kicking off .
With Bayern Munich, PSG and Chelsea all out of the running, Atletico now appears to be Ronaldo’s biggest hope of a transfer to a club that would meet the key criteria.
Ronaldo is desperate to join a team capable of competing for the Champions League, while also having several individual records in that competition to aim for.
According to The timesRonaldo is ‘impressed’ by Atletico manager Diego Simeone’s bid to sign him, while the attacker is reportedly excited about the move, even if it could slightly tarnish his golden Real Madrid legacy.
Ronaldo spent the peak years of his career with the current Champions League holders and is the club’s all-time top scorer.
Griezmann, meanwhile, was signed by Barcelona three years ago for €120 million, but returned to Atlético last summer.
The 31-year-old is halfway through a two-season lease with a €40 million purchase commitment.
Griezmann endured a mediocre campaign last season, scoring just eight goals in all competitions, and would have been offered to PSG, who are unlikely to be interested given their already astronomical wage bill.
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