Atletico Madrid and Barcelona close to agreement for Antoine Griezmann price drop

Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are on the verge of solving the curious case of Antoine Griezmann.

The Frenchman is in the second year of a two-year loan spell at Atleti, but has only been appearing as a substitute this season for less than 30 minutes on each occasion. There is a clause in his contract that states that should Griezmann play 50% of the minutes he is available for, then Los Colchoneros will be forced to spend €40m to purchase him on a permanent basis.

Diego Simeone and Atletico have shown themselves to be committed to avoiding that clause with Griezmann’s limited involvement this year. Yet with Barcelona desperate to move Griezmann and his large salary on, the pair are ‘condemned to understand each other’, as the phrase goes in Spain.

According to L’Equipe, that understanding is close. Mundo Deportivo carried their story which claims that the two sides are in talks to reduce the price of his clause to €25m.

While Barcelona will be frustrated to miss out on potential income, the alternative is not an option for the Blaugrana as they try to reduce their wage bill. Currently the situation is detrimental to all parties and thus an agreement makes sense.

Tags Antoine Griezmann Atletico Madrid Barcelona
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