Barcelona have reportedly hit a dead end with negotiations over an Antoine Griezmann swap deal this summer.
The Blaugrana are keen to ship Griezmann out due to the fact he is one of their biggest earners, while Barca also have payments remaining on his transfer.
The club’s grim financial state, which leaves them unable to register new contracts due to being over the La Liga wage cap, means they will have to part ways with at least one player from the top bracket.
And at this point, it looks inevitable it will be Griezmann, if they can manage it, while other high earners such as Gerard Pique and Sergi Roberto will likely have to agree to reduced terms before the summer is out.
But it seems Barca will have to work hard to find a buyer for Griezmann with the Frenchman not likely to return to Atletico Madrid despite links.
It has been heavily reported in the last week that Griezmann could be sent to Atleti on a swap deal for Saúl Ñiguez, but it seems that will not be the case.
Sport report that the deal appears ‘impossible’ and that Griezmann and Saúl’s most likely destination is the Premier League.
Atletico Madrid cannot pay Griezmann the amount of money he is currently on due to their current financial state, and Saúl does not want to take a reduced wage at Barca when he has ‘offers from the Premier League’ worth significantly more.
And so this deal appears to be a non-starter, sending both teams back to the drawing board as they look to offload one of their biggest earners.
Interestingly, Atleti also find themselves not only in a situation of offloading Saúl through choice but out of necessity.
A report earlier this week claimed Atleti have to sell Saúl to have any hope of bringing in any more signings this summer due to being dangerously close to the limit of their own La Liga wage cap.
Though, unlike with Barcelona and Griezmann, it seems Saúl is a man in demand with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United all heavily linked.
