Barcelona have been circling Griezmann for some time
What could you buy for £100 million? A lot of things, probably, but arguably none better at football than Antoine Griezmann. So, in a weird way, yes, yes this is a bargain. This is like that really nice jacket in Zara you’ve been eyeing up for months finally getting reduced by 20%. This is – relatively – huge. It’s time to pull the trigger boys.
I’m talking about the revelation that Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann’s release clause will drop on July 1, making his departure from the Wanda Metropolitano this summer increasingly likely.
Barcelona have been the most aggressive suitors of the Fortnite-obsessed striker in the past, despite Griezmann’s apparent rejection of their overtures after signing a new deal at Atletico last summer. Originally it was believed that the contract, which runs until 2023, contained a rather hefty release clause of €200 million (£171 million).
It has now been revealed by Spanish football website as.com that due to an agreement made during the negotiation process the clause will drop to the relatively bargain price of €120 million – roughly 100 million of her Majesty’s Great British pounds sterling.
Despite Barcelona’s long-standing interest in the former Real Sociedad youth product, they have also been casting their sultry glances elsewhere, most obviously in the direction of Eintracht Frankfurt’s Luka Jovic. They see the Serbian wonderkid, who has scored 15 goals in the Bundesliga so far, as an ideal long-term replacement for Luis Suarez and one that would come at a much lesser cost than Griezmann.
Manchester United and Paris Saint-Germain are the other super clubs to have been linked to the World Cup winner in the past and may well become part of a bidding war, but only should the Frenchmen make his intentions to finally leave Atletico clear after almost 250 appearances across five seasons.
And, presumably, an intense fear of what Diego Simeone will do to him once he finds out will be a factor in his decisionmaking.
