Used as a second half sub the World Cup winner will finally stay at Atletico Madrid per reports.
Diego Simeone is not giving up on Antoine Griezmann and is willing to spend big to get the French national team star back to his 2018 level. Antoine Griezmann has largely disappointed with a poor spell at Barcelona and Atletico Madrid after the 2018 FIFA World Cup .
Last season, the 31-year-old scored only 3 goals in 26 games. This season, Griezmann has only played one 90-minute game in LaLiga against Real Madrid and recorded an assist. Still, the French star has scored 2 goals in 7 games and is set to outperform last season.
The reason for being used as a super sub is due to a clause in the loan agreement between the two clubs that if the French star played 45 minutes or more in 50% of the matches, it would mean Barcelona would be owed €40. million on the transfer amount at the first contact. According to ESPN, Griezmann and Atletico Madrid are ready to make the move permanent as Barcelona accept a smaller transfer offer.
Atletico Madrid set to sign Antoine Griezmann permanently
According to a report by ESPN, Atlético Madrid and Barcelona are to agree on a fee in the range of 20 million euros. The two clubs negotiated half the value as Atlético Madrid communicated to Simeone to use Griezmann sparingly as a way to leverage negotiations with the Catalan giants.
Simeone said: “You’ve known me for 10 years as a coach. I’m a club man and I always will be,” when asked about Griezmann’s use. Barcelona want to officially remove the French forward’s salary from their books after he cost the club €120 million in 2019.
