'Without that ban, he would have gone' says Atletico Madrid star Antoine Griezmann's former agent

Atletico Madrid's transfer ban stopped Antoine Griezmann from leaving the Spanish capital club in the summer transfer window, according to the player's former agent and mentor Eric Olhats.

The France international was heavily linked with a move to Manchester United earlier this summer. The Sun reported that Griezmann had accepted a five-year deal worth £280,000 a week ($362,027 per week) with the Red Devils.

Atletico suffered a blow when the Court of Arbitration for Sport (Cas) upheld their Fifa transfer embargo, meaning they will not be able to register players in the summer transfer window. Their transfer ban resulted in Griezmann deciding against leaving the La Liga giants, despite firm interest from United.

The 26-year-old admitted that it would have been a "dirty move" to leave his current employers during the transfer ban. Olhats, who has been Griezmann's former agent and mentor, revealed the forward would have left Atletico "without a doubt" if not for the club's ban on registering players until January 2018.

"Griezmann hasn't felt able to leave Atletico. It showed the integrity of his links with a club unable to sign players. Without that ban, he would have gone, without a doubt," Olhats told France Football, as quoted by the Daily Mail.

He signed a new contract with Atletico in June, while his buyout clause has been kept unchanged at €100m (£87m, $112.5m). The Frenchman will be paid £235,000 a week ($297,000) as a part of his new contract, reports the Daily Mail.

According to the Independent, Griezmann personally called United manager Jose Mourinho to reveal his decision to continue with Atletico after the Court of Arbitration for Sport decided to uphold their transfer ban.

However, the player has revealed that he did not make any calls to Mourinho, but refused to rule out a future move to Old Trafford.

"To be honest, I don't know. I'm going to be playing for Atletico next season and after that we'll see. All I am thinking about now is Atletico Madrid. I think it's absurd to talk about something that is more than a year away," Griezmann told FourFourTwo.