Barcelona are about to cut their ties with Antoine Griezmann, just two years after signing the forward in a marquee deal, according to Fabrizio Romano.
The transfer insider reports that a deal to take Griezmann back to Atletico Madrid is now ‘advanced’, with the two clubs now in the ‘final stages’ of the transfer.
Romano adds that the switch is expected to take the 30-year-old back to Diego Simeone’s side on a loan deal, which includes an obligation for Atletico to make the deal permanent.
The Italian journalist adds in another post that Griezmann has now reached a complete agreement with his former club over personal terms.
Barcelona paid €120m to trigger Griezmann’s release clause in the summer of 2019, per BBC Sport. He technically cost them another €15m owing to a private settlement that the Catalan outfit struck with Atletico, according to Marca, owing to a fallout about the way they went about signing the Frenchman.
The Griezmann situation has moved very fast on Deadline Day, L’Equipe reported a couple of hours ago that a return was being discussed, noting that Barca would accept €50m for the attacker.
Antoine Griezmann deal now advanced between Barcelona & Atletico Madrid working on final details of the negotiation: it’s expected to be a loan with obligation to buy. Work in progress. ??? #Atleti #FCB #DeadlineDay
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2021
Romano has since added that the deal is in it’s ‘final stages’, with personal terms already agreed for Griezmann:
Antoine Griezmann has full agreement on personal terms with Atletico Madrid and it’s now matter of last details between Atléti and Barça to complete the deal. Final stages. ??? #Atleti #FCB #DeadlineDay
Barça are progressing in talks to sign Luuk de Jong from Sevilla.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) August 31, 2021
The France international has not registered a single goal or assist in Barcelona’s first three matches of the season. Perhaps the Spanish capital is the perfect place for Griezmann to reestablish himself.
Griezmann has contributed 35 goals and 17 assists in 102 appearances across all competitions for the Blaugrana, largely failing to live up to the expectations of his massive price tag.
The left-footed attacker established himself as a superstar in his five-year spell with Atleti, he could be a game-changing addition as the Madrid outfit look to defend their La Liga title.
An attacking trio of Griezmann, Luis Suarez and Joao Felix could prove to be very exciting, and importantly, may be enough to get the better of the likes of Real Madrid and Barcelona over the season.