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Lyon president Jean-Michel Aulas has said striker Alexandre Lacazette has a verbal agreement to join Atletico Madrid. Aulas revealed the news soon after France international Lacazette, who has two years remaining on his contract, had said he felt the time was right for him to leave. Speaking after the 3-3 home draw with Nice on Saturday, the president told reporters: "Alex has a verbal agreement with one club, Atletico. "We have accepted Alex's demand to speak exclusively with this club. But the quid pro quo of this exclusivity is that the transfer is done on our terms. For the time being, after two direct contacts, the offer is not completely in line with what we wish for." Earlier, Lacazette had told L'Equipe "it's the right time" to leave Lyon and indicated that he could move to Atletico. In an interview published the day before the last game of the season, the 25-year-old made it official that he would be departing the seven-time Ligue 1 champions. "I think it's the right time," he said. "I want to discover something else, to put myself in danger and to make a step up. Although people say I score goals, I know I'm not very well known on a European scale. "I want to see if I can answer the questions people are asking and improve still further. We're at a stage where everyone can be happy with what they get, so that's all the better." The Lyon youth academy product, who has scored 26 league goals this season, had been linked with Arsenal but said: "Atletico is good. "It's a club that has been in the Champions League semifinals for a number of years. It's a great team, a new stadium, and it's a club that makes its players improve. And there is [France colleague] Antoine Griezmann."
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