Samuel Umtiti goes into agent mode for Antoine Griezmann's Barcelona move

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Bengaluru, April 3: In a rather strange turn of events, Barcelona’s estranged defender Samuel Umtiti claimed that he sometimes acts as an agent to convince his compatriot, Antoine Griezmann, to join Catalan giants Barcelona. The Atletico Madrid forward is heavily touted to join Barca this summer with rumors of a deal already being struck surfacing as well.

The strange part is that of Samuel Umtiti convincing Griezmann to make the move. According to reports earlier, Umtiti demanded a massive wage hike in his contract or threatened to leave Barcelona for Manchester United if his demands are not met. The PL club are ready to offer the Frenchman his demanded wage along with a release clause in his existing contract. Interestingly, Griezmann was heavily linked to Manchester United last summer, which could potentially be the landing spot for Umtiti next season.

Speaking to Canal Plus, Umtiti said: "I got myself into agent mode! No, I'm kidding.

"It's true that we talk about it a lot. I was able to talk about it with him, but just to find out what he thinks of my club. But everyone thinks good things about it. It makes them dream. Players of that level. ... If he comes, we'd have to play with six forwards."

At just 24 years of age, Umtiti cemented his place in the Barcelona line-up and touted to be the long-term successor for ageing Gerard Pique. However, in the wake of Umtiti's demands, he could land up at Old Trafford anyway.

"My clause isn't much. Everyone is aware of that. It's something that concerns me, but doesn't interest me," Umtiti said. "I'm really about the pitch, about enjoying myself. The truth is that there is interest from several clubs.

"But I have so many objectives to achieve with Barcelona that there isn't any question of it. Things go very, very, very quickly in this world. All that I can say is that I'm very happy."

According to recent reports, Manchester United, in their bid for a major revamp this summer, are ready with Umtiti’s €60m buy-out clause and a package of €9 million annual salary.