Djorkaeff suggests Griezmann could stay at impressive Atletico

Dom Farrell

Djorkaeff suggests Griezmann could stay at impressive Atletico image

Former France forward Youri Djorkaeff has urged compatriot Antoine Griezmann to think carefully about his future as transfer speculation continues to swirl around the Atletico Madrid star.

The 26-year-old has continued his superb form at the Vicente Calderon this season, scoring 22 goals across all competitions.

Atleti are once again the closest challengers to Real Madrid and Barcelona in LaLiga and into the quarter-finals of the Champions League, where they face reigning Premier League champions Leicester City next week.

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The Madrid derby is up first this weekend, with Diego Simeone's men boasting a better record domestically against their city rivals than in the Champions League finals of 2014 and 2016 – where Atletico suffered crushing losses during extra time and on penalties respectively.

Antoine Griezmann

Djorkaeff, who featured in France's triumphant 1998 World Cup and Euro 2000 squads, feels Atletico's consistently high performances among Europe's elite should come under consideration as Griezmann ponders his next move.

Manchester United have been heavily linked with a mega-money move for the forward, but Djorkaeff believes Atleti's 2013-14 LaLiga triumph and 2012-13 Copa del Rey win show they have had a better time over recent seasons than other heavyweight names across the continent.

"You know, this decision belongs to the player but it's all about what you are offered," Djorkaeff told Omnisport.

"People think that Atletico is inferior to all the other [big clubs]. However Atletico Madrid played two of the three last Champions League finals, they won the Spanish league and Copa del Rey.

"They have won a lot of trophies, they have played a lot of finals as well. They just miss out maybe on the Champions League.

"However, there are only a few clubs in the last few years who have reached the final."

Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.