Atletico Madrid ready to sell Barcelona target Antoine Griezmann to Manchester United

Manchester United have been handed a massive boost in their ongoing pursuit of Antoine Griezmann as Atletico Madrid are willing to allow the forward to join the Red Devils following a row with Barcelona.

According to the Mirror, the Spanish capital club are furious with their league rivals after Barcelona president Josep Maria Bartomeu met with the France international's family to discuss a potential transfer.

Barcelona head of sporting and institutional relations Guillermo Amor also did not do the Catalan club any favours after hinting that Bartomeu could have met with the 26-year-old's family.

"Well. If the newspaper says so, it may be the case. There may well have been an approach. I don't know. There is a good relationship, there can also be conversations. Rumours are inevitable in the football world," Amor said.

"In Griezmann's case, there are many players that you can talk to and enter some kind of relationship with, in the event an opportunity arises. The club usually carry out this kind of work."

Atletico were unhappy with Barcelona's attempts to secure Griezmann's services and have complained to the sport's governing body Fifa for tapping up their star forward.

A statement on the Madrid club's official website read, "Atletico Madrid have presented a complaint about Barcelona for repeated contact between Barcelona, the player and his people.

"Griezmann has a long contract and this cannot be permitted, while the club also considers it could affect the competition [La Liga] in which Barcelona are currently top and Atletico are second."

The former Real Sociedad star has also been a long-term transfer target for United manager Jose Mourinho, who was interested in signing him in the summer. However, the Court of Arbitration for Sport's (CAS) decision to uphold Atletico's transfer embargo forced Griezmann to continue with his current employers.

United still maintain an interest in Griezmann, but with Barcelona also joining the fray, the Independent reported earlier that the 20-time English champions and Atletico officials feared the La Liga leaders would secure the player's signature.

However, Atletico's decision to lodge an official complaint with Fifa regarding Barcelona's tapping-up of Griezmann has convinced the Rojiblancos to sell their star player abroad after the end of the 2017/18 season.

Atletico manager Diego Simeone also admitted recently that the attacker would be allowed to leave the club "at some point".

Meanwhile, Griezmann also opened the door for United after admitting that a switch to Old Trafford is a "possibility". A switch to Old Trafford will help him play alongside his compatriot and friend Paul Pogba.

Griezmann's current deal at Wanda Metropolitano runs down in 2022 and his release clause will be reset at €100m (£88.4m, $118.4m) from January 2018.