Atletico Madrid ‘secure £17m cut-price deal with Barcelona over Antoine Griezmann transfer’
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Atlético Madrid ‘secure deal with Barcelona on Antoine Griezmann transfer’, with the Frenchman returning to the capital ‘confirmed for £17million’, ending his 30-minute cameos to avoid paying £35million
- The Frenchman has been the subject of brawl between the clubs this season
- A situation had arisen where Atletico Madrid seemed reluctant to use him
- Antoine Griezmann will move to Atletico Madrid permanently after his departure in 2019
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The ridiculous situation in which Antoine Griezmann was introduced to almost every game after 60 minutes this season seems to be coming to an end.
Griezmann, 31, returned to Atlético Madrid last year on a two-year loan from Barcelona with various clauses and agreements that, if fulfilled, would require the Madrid club to pay Barcelona a £35 million fee to make the move permanent.
The most important agreement in the deal concerned his minutes. To make the move final, Griezmann would have to play 45 minutes or more in 80 percent of the matches he was available for over the two-year period.
Antoine Griezmann’s permanent return to Atlético Madrid to be confirmed against a cut in original fee
Having played 45 minutes in more than 80 per cent of matches last season, a situation seems to have arisen this season where Diego Simeone and the club have been reluctant to pay Barcelona the full £35m and withheld Griezmann until at least the 60th minute.
When asked about the situation in September, Simeone replied that he was primarily a “club man.”
Griezmann has only started two games across all competitions this season.
Earlier in the week an agreement was reached after back and forth over how much the Madrid club would pay Barcelona
As both clubs wanted to end the fiasco that has been a major talking point in La Liga this season, a compensation deal was agreed with a deal reportedly on the brink of confirmation.
According to Fabrizio Romano£17 million is the fee agreed for the player – roughly half of the original fee included in the loan deal last year.
Despite leaving Atlético Madrid for Barcelona in 2019 in a quest for more consistent success, Griezmann would only want the definitive return to the club he originally joined in 2014 after the relative failure of his time in Catalonia.
The Frenchman, who has reportedly wanted to see an end to this season’s fiasco, partly due to the World Cup in November, is Atlético Madrid’s fourth highest goalscorer ever with 144 goals in all competitions.
The move will suit all sides, with Barcelona receiving much-needed money, while Atletico Madrid will get a player deeply etched in their history
France’s World Cup defense kicks off on November 22, taking on Australia.
The resolution seems suitable for all parties. Griezmann’s multimillion-pound move to Catalonia was essentially an unmitigated disaster from the start, with the Frenchman rarely looking comfortable and somewhat resenting fans for his presence at a difficult time for the club.
Barcelona risked the issue of Griezmann returning next summer in closing the two-year loan, with not much of a market for a player believed to have an astronomical wage.
Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid retain a player firmly etched into the club’s fabric, despite the animosity of his departure in 2019.
Diego Simeone told the press in September that he was a “club man” when asked why he kept introducing Griezmann after 60 minutes.
