Juan Mata jokes about Antoine Griezmann's '6 out of 10' chances of joining Manchester United

Juan Mata has lavished praise on Antoine Griezmann amid heavy speculation linking the Atletico Madrid ace with a summer move to Manchester United.

Griezmann, 26, only signed a new deal at the Vicente Calderon last summer, setting his release clause at €100m (£86.6m, $112.2m).

However, the France international is tipped to make a move to Old Trafford in the summer after having been reportedly identified as Jose Mourinho's next marquee signing.

Griezmann himself added fuel to those speculations earlier this week by stating his chances of moving to Old Trafford ahead of the 2017-18 campaign are "six out of ten".

Asked about the quotes during an interview with Cadena Ser, Mata joked: "When I was at school that was considered OK. A six out of 10 was OK. I would take that at school. I don't reject a 6."

"But I don't know [what's going to happen in the future]. Obviously, Griezmann is a great player and I like great players. He has quality, he gets goals... and I don't know him but he seems like a good guy. I don't know what will happen but of course I like him."

Mata also revealed his admiration for 23-year-old Paulo Dybala ahead of the Champions League final between Real Madrid and Juventus. Manchester United will face either the La Liga giants or the Serie A champions in the Uefa Super Cup following their 2-0 victory over Ajax in the Europa League final.

Questioned whether he would rather play Los Blancos or La Vecchia Signora, Mata replied: "Playing against a Spanish side is always special for me. Let's see who wins [the Champions League final],"

"Juve also have another player that I love in Dybala. I think he is player with a lot of quality and a fantastic technique. We'll see what happens in the final."

Mata was also full of praise of Mourinho after United comfortably overcame Ajax in the Europa League final – and consequently secure qualification for the Champions League.

"Mourinho hates losing, you know it well. During the week he tried to motivate the team as well as he could, focusing on not committing any errors. We didn't make any mistakes and we played well. We defended well, we scored in two important moments and we showed how to play a final," Mata added.

"It was all or nothing and as we won so its fair to say it has been a good season for us. [We have won] three trophies, we're in the Champions League next season so we're very happy.

"We want to improve what we did in the Premier League [ahead of next season] but if you'd told us at the start of the season we'd win three trophies and be in the Champions League we'd have taken it."