Manchester United sought dialogue with Antoine Griezmann and his representative last summer to gauge the possibility of signing the France international, Sky Sports can exclusively reveal.
When football director John Murtough and recruitment consultant Tom Keane flew to Spain to formalise a deal for Casemiro in August 2022, they made calls to arrange a meeting with Griezmann's camp in Madrid to understand his situation and feelings around a transfer to Old Trafford.
The multi-functional player was on loan to Atletico Madrid from Barcelona at that point, but had his game time limited due to a clause that stipulated a permanent buy option of €40m (£35.2m) would be triggered if he played half of the minutes he was available for.
It prompted an odd situation where Atletico boss Diego Simeone was only utilising Griezmann after the 60-minute mark given Atleti's financial constraints.
United wanted a reading on whether the 31-year-old was exploring his options but, while he was flattered by the club's interest and considers the Premier League a challenge, Griezmann's priority was making his transfer to Atleti permanent.
That happened in October, before his standout performances in Qatar helped France reach the World Cup final.
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