Barcelona will soon get 31-year-old French forward Antoine Griezmann off their books, with Atletico Madrid set to pay €40 million to sign him.
According to a report by Spanish publication SPORT, Antoine Griezmann’s ill-fated Barcelona stint is set to end for good in the summer transfer window. The 31-year-old forward will join Atletico Madrid permanently, with Los Rojiblancos set to shell out €40 million to secure his services.
Antoine Griezmann has spent his entire professional career in Spain, first rising to prominence at Real Sociedad nearly a decade ago. After a productive stint with La Real, the Frenchman moved to the Spanish capital by joining Atletico Madrid, where he progressed leaps and bounds to establish himself as one of the best players in Europe.
The biggest move of Griezmann’s career came in July 2019, when he joined Barcelona after flirting with a transfer for a couple of years. But the 31-year-old forward’s spell with Barcelona has been one to forget, as he struggled to fit in the system in place at Camp Nou, even though he played under different managers.
After failing to make an impression, Griezmann returned to Atletico Madrid on a season-long loan last summer. The agreement between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid stipulated that Griezmann would permanently rejoin the defending La Liga champions in a €40 million deal if he featured for 50 per cent of the games for which he was available.
Griezmann has already exceeded that figure, turning out 28 times across all competitions for Los Rojiblancos. And while he has amassed a sub-par tally of eight goals and five assists, the French international is set to rejoin Atletico Madrid permanently in the summer transfer window, thus bringing an end to his frustrating Barcelona stint.
As for Barcelona, the 31-year-old forward’s sale will help them balance their books while getting rid of his enormous wages. Griezmann’s impending €40 million departure will also enable Barcelona to shell out the required sums to sign key targets that will not arrive as free agents, such as Raphinha.
For now, it looks like Griezmann’s ill-fated stint with Barcelona is on the verge of ending in the summer transfer window, with Atletico Madrid poised to land him in a €40 million deal. It remains to be seen if his sale has a positive effect on Barcelona.
