Manchester United Will Reportedly Not Battle Barcelona for Antoine Griezmann

Manchester United manager Jose Mourinho will reportedly not enter into a bidding war to sign Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann despite the Red Devils being heavily linked with him last summer.  

According to Marca, in a big boost for fellow suitors Barcelona, Mourinho has never been too enthusiastic about signing Griezmann. Consequently, United will not try to sign the France international either in January or next summer.

Per Mundo Deportivo and BBC 5 live Sport, Barca already looked to be leading the way in the race to sign the 26-year-old:

"

A number of European giants probably have Antoine Griezmann at the top of their January shopping list.

But how do you go about trying to sign a player whose under contract until 2021-22?

Our Euro League Football Podcast team reveal just who to speak to.https://t.co/zyMnSEoCjK pic.twitter.com/XDYAzXZPOA

— BBC 5 live Sport (@5liveSport) December 27, 2017"

It was reported as a blow to United back in the summer when the France international announced he would remain at Atleti, saying it would be a "dirty move" to leave when the club were under a transfer ban, per Telefoot (h/t the Press Association, via the Guardian).

Per Marca, Griezmann's buyout clause is €100 million (£88.7 million), a fee any prospective buyer would likely have to meet given his contract at the Wanda Metropolitano runs until 2022.

It seems Mourinho is not prepared to shell out such cash in order to snap up the former Real Sociedad star, leaving the door open for Barcelona.

The Blaugrana are leading La Liga by nine points ahead of second-place Atleti and have yet to be beaten in the Spanish top flight this season.

Despite their impressive first half of the campaign, though, it seems clear they still want to bolster their attacking ranks following Neymar's summer departure and Ousmane Dembele's long-term injury.

Griezmann has proved himself as a consistent goalscorer and creator during his time at Atleti, both in La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.

He made a slow start to the 2017-18 campaign but has shown better form of late and would be a fine addition to Ernesto Valverde's Barcelona squad.