By Tim Stannard

1) Simeone says Griezmann is free to go 

The inevitable has been confirmed by Diego Simeone. Sort of. 

That inevitable being the departure of Antoine Griezmann who looks set to be trying out new goal celebrations and bold, blonde haircuts in pastures new, as early as next summer. The Atletico Madrid manager was being probed on all manner of subjects in an interview but revealed that when it comes to all things players and personal development, the Argentinean is more than willing to pack some sandwiches for a footballer, give them a hearty hug and hand them the cab fare to their next destination with fond farewell. 

"Of course, Griezmann will be able to leave at some point, the same way Costa and Arda Turan were allowed to leave," said Simeone, who let’s face it, is also going to be leaving Wanda-land sooner rather than later. The suitors for the French forward will be of the top-notch variety including Manchester United – a foot in Old Trafford last summer – and potentially Barcelona, who look set to be collecting a gaggle of left-sided forwards if the rumor mill murmurings around Philippe Coutinho are correct. 

Atletico Madrid are back in action on Saturday with a 1-0 win over Alaves that you can see on beIN SPORTS ESPANYOL form 2:45PM ET / 11:45AM PT. 

2) Madrid v Barca battle for King Arthur 

Let’s carry on the transfer theme in a fairly quiet day in the wide, wide world of football and another Clasico battle taking place over the Brazilian footballer, Arthur. 

It had seemed that the Gremio midfielder was all set for a move to Barcelona potentially next summer – Sport reports a delegation heading to Brazil next week to seal the deal – but apparently, Real Madrid might be sneaking in to take the footballer themselves.

The advantage that Madrid has is that the club is in the exact same location as Gremio right now, with the two teams playing the Club World Cup final on Saturday in Abu Dhabi and there could well be some amorous advances being made over dinner although the footballer in question is absent due to injury. 

The matter of which round table King Arthur will be sitting at next season could be resolved within days. 

Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT for a full preview of Saturday’s big final and the rest of the action in La Liga which gets underway on Friday with Sevilla hosting Levante live on beIN SPORTS Espanyol from 2:50PM ET / 11:50AM PT. 

3) Maradona blasts Real Madrid transfer mistake

Yes, it’s transfers again – ghosts of transfers past – but it is far too juicy to miss. 

Diego Maradona doth spaketh and has said that he told Real Madrid president, Florentino Perez, to sign Kylian Mbappe last summer. However, the move did not come to pass with PSG apparently using a Jedi mind trick on Monaco and getting their title rivals to loan their top player to them. 

The reason why Real Madrid passed on Mbappe? Cristiano Ronaldo claims Maradona after a chat with the Real Madrid big wig. However, the Argentinean great has some advice for Madrid on how to deal with the matter of CR7 and Ronaldo in just one team - "sell Bale, give Bale away, he will surely be a makeweight for something.” 

Tune into the Locker Room from 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT to find out if Real Madrid made the biggest transfer mistake in the history of the world…ever. Yep…ever. 

Also, find out how Kylian Mbappe’s old team Monaco get on in the day’s big Ligue Un clash on beIN SPORTS.com as the third-placed team hit the road to take on Saint Etienne. 

4) Mourinho admits Manchester United struggles 

A gaggle of Premier League managers have been speaking on Friday ahead of the weekend’s round of action. The stand-out clash sees Manchester City hosting Tottenham and Pep Guardiola hinting that more money could be splurged in the winter window to bolster the backline. “We don’t want to sign someone for a few months. We want to sign them for years and we have to make sure it’s the right guy.”

Over in the other side of Manchester United, Jose Mourinho was given a grilling over his team now being 11 points behind Manchester City after last weekend’s derby defeat and whether the Portuguese felt that the season was going south. "We are second. Could be first in other seasons with these points, yes. But we are second. That is where we are.” A fair point really…

Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT for the hottest takes from England. 

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