Barcelona and Atletico Madrid have finally come to an agreement that should allow Antoine Griezmann to play as much as Diego Simeone wants him to.
The French forward has been limited to mostly cameo appearances this season, coming on in all but two of Atletico Madrid’s games with half an hour to go. One of the two matches he started was the Madrid derby and the second was on Tuesday night against Club Brugge.
That may well be due to the fact that the clubs have reportedly reached an agreement for the transfer of Griezmann. Carrusel Deportivo say that Atletico Madrid will pay Barcelona €20m to make his loan deal permanent.
🚨💣 ÚLTIMA HORA | Hay ACUERDO entre @FCBarcelona_es y @Atleti por @AntoGriezmann
💸 Pagarán 20 MILLONES
🎙️ Tal y como ha adelantado 'Más Atlético' y ha confirmado @Tala_Radio pic.twitter.com/DvNAtOUkZT
— Carrusel Deportivo (@carrusel) October 5, 2022
Los Rojiblancos had been playing him so infrequently in order to avoid paying an obligatory €40m purchase option should he hit a certain number of games over the two-year loan deal.
While Barcelona may feel they have gotten a raw deal, it is one that makes sense for all parties. The alternative, Griezmann being limited to constant substitute appearances and then returning to Barcelona on significant wages, would have been non-sensical for both clubs.
