Antoine Griezmann has the told Atletico Madrid he will not return to the club next season.

The France striker signed a five-year deal with Atletico last season and had a €104m release clause inserted into his contract.

Griezmann, 28, said he had told Atletico coach Diego Simeone and chief executive Miguel Angel Gil Marin of his decision and addressed the supporters in the video message.

He said in a video posted on the club’s Twitter account: “It has been five incredible years, thank you very much for everything, I carry you in my heart”.

“I wanted to tell the fans who have always given me a lot of love that I have taken the decision to leave, to see other things, to have other challenges,” he said.

The Los Rojiblancos captain rejected a move to Barcelona last summer but after the club announced he informed them he will be moving on on their Twitter account.

Griezmann, who joined Atletico from Real Sociedad for a reported €30m in 2014, has been the team’s top scorer in each of the five seasons he has been at the club.

He was Atletico’s inspirational figure when they won the 2018 Europa League, scoring twice in a 3-0 win over Olympique Marseilles in the final, before helping them win the UEFA Super Cup.

Griezmann also lifted the Spanish Super Cup in 2014.

He played in the 2016 Champions League final, which Atletico lost on penalties to Real Madrid, and was named as the third best player in the world at that year’s FIFA Ballon d’Or awards.

Griezmann is the latest high profile player to announce that he is leaving Atletico at the end of the season.

France defender Lucas Hernandez agreed to join Bayern Munich when they paid his €80m release clause and long-serving captain Diego Godin’s contract is coming to an end.

“Griezmann is our captain and he is important for us, so I am not worried at all,” Atleti boss Simeone told Fox Sports programme 90 Minutos, as cited by Marca.

“I am not in his body so I cannot tell you what he is thinking, but he has two years left on his contract and he is continuing to grow and improve here.”

Reports in England claim that Chelsea starlet Martell Taylor-Crossdale is close to joining Hoffenheim.

Sky Sports say the 19-year-old striker will head over to Germany later this week for a medical and complete the formalities on a permanent move to the Bundesliga.

The Premier League side wanted to extend his stay at Stamford Bridge, reports The Sun.

However, the teenager has snubbed the offer and will continue his development in Germany on a free transfer.

Taylor-Crossdale, from East London, was top scorer in the U18 Premier League in 2017 and has scored goals for England from U16 through to U20 level.

He was also a member of the England U18 team that lifted the Toulon Tournament trophy in 2017.

It is also reported Hoffenheim – who loaned Reiss Nelson from Arsenal this season – are also in the mix to land another unnamed English youngster before the end of the month.

The teen becomes the latest kid to quit England to try their luck on the continent.

Jadon Sancho left Manchester City to join Borussia Dortmund in August 2017.

Gareth Bale’s agent has revealed that the Wales international is willing to take on manager Zinedine Zidane in a summer power struggle at the Bernabeu.

Despite enduring a difficult relationship with his manager which dates back to the end of Zidane’s first spell as Madrid coach, Bale was usually in the team as either a starter or substitute when the Frenchman initially returned to the Bernabeu as coach last March.

Jonathan Barnett has suggested to ESPN FC that the action is very important to clear the air about the manager’s plan for his client with regards to his Real Madrid’s future.

However, Zidane has left Bale out of both of his most recent match squads, while using his news conferences to say “it is clear” the message he is sending with his selections ahead of a summer where a lot of changes are expected at Madrid.

Paris Saint-Germain are reportedly interested in Bale and, asked by ESPN FC whether Bale would be leaving this summer, Barnett said his client’s position remained that he wanted to stick to a Madrid contract which runs up until 2022.

“Gareth is fine,” Barnett responded. “He is still a Real player with three years left on his contract.

“He has always been clear about that. And if he is picked he will play.”

Pushed as to what Bale would do if Zidane continues to not select him, and publicly suggesting he wants him to leave, Barnett said his client was determined to stay at Madrid regardless.

“You would have to ask Mr. Zidane what he wants to do,” he said. “But Gareth will keep trying.”

There was renewed optimism around Madrid when Zidane — who left after leading the club to three successive Champions League titles — returned following a difficult season under first Julen Lopetegui and then Santiago Solari as managers in in the first seven months of the season. However, results have remained underwhelming.

While Chelsea attacker Eden Hazard is still widely expected to arrive at Madrid this summer, Zidane recently backtracked over public comments which had been interpreted as him calling on Manchester United’s Paul Pogba to come to the Bernabeu.

PSG’s Kylian Mbappe is another player who Zidane has regularly praised openly in his press appearances, although AS have issued a reminder this week that Florentino Perez’s focus remains on long term target Neymar.

Newly-crowned Premier League winners Manchester City have furiously hit back at claims they are set to be banned from the Champions League for a year.

The club reportedly face being ousted from Europe’s top football competition for a season over alleged breaches of Financial Fair Play rules.

City are believed to have been accused by Uefa of providing “unconvincing” explanations over the club’s finances.

As reported by the Mail, the club have released a statement questioning the integrity of the Uefa probe after a New York Times report claimed they will be suspended for a year.

Their statement said: “Manchester City FC is fully cooperating in good faith with the CFCB IC’s (Uefa’s Club Financial Control Body Investigatory Chamber) ongoing investigation.

“In doing so the club is reliant on both the CFCB IC’s independence and commitment to due process; and on Uefa’s commitment of the 7th of March that it ‘….will make no further comment on the matter while the investigation is ongoing’.

“The New York Times report citing ‘people familiar with the case’ is therefore extremely concerning.

“The implications are that either Manchester City’s good faith in the CFCB IC is misplaced or the CFCB IC process is being misrepresented by individuals intent on damaging the club’s reputation and its commercial interests. Or both.”

The Sun reports that City have protested their innocence after a series of damaging revelations were made by Football Leaks and published by German outlet Der Speigel.

According to the cache of emails published by Der Spiegel, City allegedly hid at least £70m in funding from owners Abu Dhabi United Group – the financial arm of the Emirate’s ruling family – by claiming it was sponsorship income.

However, the club condemned “the speculation resulting from the illegal hacking and out of context publication of City emails” and added: The accusation of financial irregularities are entirely false.”

City would be able to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport but they would have to do so before the Champions League group stage draw on August 29 in Monaco.

In February, the head of Uefa’s investigatory panel Yves Leterme — who is the former Belgian prime minister — suggested it does not look good for City.

He suggested “exclusion from Uefa competition” if “what has been written is true.”

Latest reports in Spain and England claim Matthijs de Ligt has already agreed figures on a deal to join Barcelona this summer.

The Holland international is a Premier League target, with both Manchester United and Liverpool being linked with the centre-back in recent weeks.

But the Red Devils are concerned about the defender’s possible weight gain, as revealed by Mirror Sport, while Liverpool already have a number of top quality centre-backs on their books including Virgil van Dijk and Joe Gomez.

This has left the door open for Barcelona, who have already signed De Ligt’s Ajax team-mate Frenkie de Jong for £67million ahead of the window opening.

The Catalan giants have made it quite clear they are interested in signing De Ligt.

And according to Oriol Domenech, talking on the Club de la Mitjanit programme on Esport 3, the figures to get the deal done have already been agreed.

Domenech claims De Ligt’s agent Mino Raiola met with Barcelona representatives in Monaco to thrash out the finer details of the transfer, and that the Spanish club are confident of completing the deal.

Reports in France claim Paris Saint-Germain are preparing to blow their summer transfer budget on three Real Madrid players when the window reopens.

According to French newspaper Le Parisien, the Ligue 1 champions are interested in bringing Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos and Isco to the Parc des Princes.

They claim that PSG will offer around £180million for the trio, who are all available if Real Madrid’s demands are met.

Zinedine Zidane has personally told Bale that he is not in his plans for next season, while Kroos has struggled for form and Isco has been out of favour, reports the Daily Mail.

Real are planning their own summer overhaul, with Eden Hazard and Paul Pogba among Zidane’s top targets.

Selling Bale, Kroos and Isco would help finance a spending spree as they attempt to get back on track after a hugely disappointing season.

PSG are said to have a particular interest in Kroos, although bids for Bale and Isco could depend on whether Julian Draxler and Edinson Cavani depart.

The French giants want to cash in on the German, who has attracted the attention of Bayern Munich, while the future of Cavani remains up in the air.

Bale would prefer to stay at the Bernabeu, although a fresh start in Paris may appeal if no interest from the Premier League materialises.

Chelsea defender Cesar Azpilicueta has called on the club’s hierarchy to respect Eden Hazard’s decision over his summer move to Real Madrid.

The Belgian has been heavily linked with a move to the Los Blaancos, especially since the return of Zinedine Zidane as the manager of the Spanish giants.

While Chelsea are desperate for their star man to put pen-to-paper on a new contract in west London, the player confirmed at the weekend that he has now made a decision on his future.

“Obviously Eden is a very important player for us,” he told Sky Sports .

“We arrived here at the same time and obviously we want him to stay with us – but we have to respect his decision.

“He is a Chelsea player and his mind is only doing well with Chelsea and on lifting the trophy in Baku – and then we will see.”

Joao Cancelo has dealt Manchester United a transfer blow by claiming he wants to remain at Juventus.

The full-back was one of the names linked with a move to Old Trafford as Ole Gunnar Solskjaer plots his full squad revamp.

Cancelo told Goal: “I’ve learned a lot this year, I went through positive moments with fantastic people and friends.

“I want to stay here. I hope my future is at Juventus where I hope to win many different trophies.”

A squad of 23 Chelsea players has touched down in Massachusetts in the United States of America at lunchtime on that side of the Atlantic.

The Stamford Bridge are billed to play a controversial friendly in the United States, which will leave them with less than two weeks to prepare for their Europa League final when they return.

The Blues had agreed to face New England Revolution in an exhibition match to highlight the ‘Final Whistle On Hate’ campaign before reaching the Europa final in Baku, reports the Daily Mail.

However, the fixture is a point of contention for boss Maurizio Sarri, who has made his feelings on the US arrangement clear

The match takes place on Wednesday at the Gillette Stadium in Boston, which is two weeks before they face London rivals Arsenal in Baku in the Europa League final.

Nevertheless, straight after the final day of the season, players left the club’s base on Monday morning by bus, before boarding a chartered flight for their 6,544-mile round trip across the Atlantic.

Sarri made his feelings on the fixture clear after they beat Eintracht Frankfurt in the semi-final last Thursday.

After the game, Sarri said: ‘Now we need to rest. Unfortunately we have to go to the United States but we have 10 days to prepare for the final and we have to recover energy.

‘We go there for a good reason, so as a man I am very happy to go. As a coach, of course, I am a little bit worried because I know very well that the team now needs rest. So it is not the best way to prepare the final, I think.

‘I am not worried about the physical side, I think it is more difficult to recover mentally. Because in a match like this one you spend, usually, a lot of energy and then of course you have to go down and then it is not easy to go up again.’

The ‘Final Whistle on Hate’ fixture is aimed at tackling discrimination but with a particular emphasis on anti-Semitism. Chelsea had already stated they would send their full first-team squad to the States before they reached the European final.

Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero, Rob Green, Marcos Alonso, Jorginho, Ross Barkley, Gonzalo Higuain, Eden Hazard, Pedro, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mateo Kovacic, Olivier Giroud, Davide Zappacosta, Willian, Andreas Christensen, Cesar Azpilicueta, David Luiz, Emerson Palmieri, Marc Guehi, Reece James, Ike Ugbo, Trevoh Chalobah, Conor Gallagher.

Photo Credit: chelseafc.com

Reports in Spain claim Barcelona and Real Madrid spoiling for confrontation over Ajax midfielder Donny van de Beek.

According to El Mundo Deportivo, the two Spanish giants are tracking the potential of a summer move for the free-scoring Ajax ace.

The 22-year-old Dutch international has scored 17 goals this season, including the only goal in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Tottenham.

The Dutch giants were involved in late heartbreak in that tie as they were eliminated on away goals after the tie ended 3-3 on aggregate, with many members of the squad now tipped to depart.

Van de Beek’s teammate Frenkie de Jong has already agreed an €86m switch to Barcelona this summer while defender and club captain Matthijs de Ligt has also been linked.

Now their club and international teammate has been linked with both sides of the divide in El Clasico and could be available at a more affordable price, reports Football Espana.

The central midfielder has spent the entirety of his professional career at the Amsterdam-based giants and has won international recognition for the Netherlands.