It looked almost certain that Antoine Griezmann would be joining Manchester United in a huge, perhaps world record breaking deal this summer, but a legal decision put the transfer on hold.

Atletico Madrid's transfer ban was upheld by the Court of Arbitration for Sport meaning that while they can sign players now, none of them would be registered and able to play until January 2018.

That decision meant the French international would be leaving Atletico depleted for half of the season and could significantly hurt the club. That just wasn't something Griezmann was prepared to do.

Furthermore, the 26-year-old penned a new contract that runs until 2022, seemingly committing his long-term future to the club.

However, in FourFourTwo's August addition, Griezmann explains that once Atletico's ban is up he will explore his options and admitted that he had to stay because of the ban.

“To be honest, I don’t know. I’m going to be here next season, after that we’ll see.

“It’s absurd to talk about something more than a year away.

“I stayed mainly because of the ban. Atletico need me more than ever. It would be dirty to leave.

“I wouldn’t have been myself or the person that I feel I am today, if I had left the club in that way.”

While Atletico fans would not want to keep a player out of pity, his loyalty must also be commended. The man who scored 26 goals last season obviously cares about the club and has proved it in a major way.

Still, mentioning that he will think about his future again next summer is sure to get Man United fans thinking the big-money deal could be resurrected in the future.

Griezmann also noted during the interview that a big influence of his down the years is former Manchester United man, David Beckham.

“I used to like David Beckham a lot and it’s actually because of him that my interest in tattoos first began.

“I wouldn’t say that I copied his style but I admired him and would look him up on the internet so that I could find out more about him.”