Lacazette's move to Atletico Madrid likely to fall through

Alexandre Lacazette's proposed move to Atletico Madrid seems unlikely despite comments from Lyon president saying a verbal agreement is in place.

Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas openly claimed that Lacazette has reached a verbal agreement with the Spanish side.

Speaking in an interview with L'Equipe after the final game of the season where Lyon drew with Nice 3-3, Aulas said, "Alex has a verbal agreement with a club, Atletico, but there is no certainty since we have to wait for CAS to lift the ban on recruitment,"

Atletico Madrid, along with Real Madrid, were slapped with transfer bans by FIFA after they were found to have broken laws regarding international transfers of players aged 16 and under.

Earlier in the week, Lacazette had already hinted at a move to Atletico, with the possibility of teaming up with Griezmann stated as one of the reasons why he would fancy a move to the Spanish capital.

Also speaking to L'Equipe, Lacazette was quoted as saying Atletico is a "great team" and a club that "helps their players progress". When asked for more reasons, the Frenchman said, "There is Antoine Griezmann. If Atletico is the club I chose, I have not told you, maybe I'll give you another answer in a few months."

There are two main reasons why a move to Atletico looks likely to fall through. Firstly, the transfer ban imposed on them by FIFA will not be easy to lift. While the club president was confident of it back in March, Atletico have not been able to make much progress in their appeal to FIFA and with the summer window coming up soon, it is looking increasingly unlikely that the ban will get lifted.

Secondly, Lacazette's dream of playing alongside Griezmann might not come to fruition as he is strongly linked with a move away from the club, with Manchester United the likely destination.  

Lacazette finished the Ligue 1 season, and potentially his final game for Lyon, in style, scoring two goals in Lyon's scintillating 3-3 draw with Nice.