Atletico Madrid continue to frustrate Barcelona over Griezmann

FT Desk

Updated: 31 Aug 2022 11:17 BST
3 min read

Antoine Griezmann for Atletico Madrid — © ProShots

A World Cup winner and Atletico Madrid legend - but Antoine Griezmann continues to be restricted to 30-minute cameos this season. What is going on?

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Griezmann came off the bench to score Atletico's winner at Valencia on Monday night, having replaced Geoffrey Kondogbia in the 64th minute - his goal arriving just two minutes later.

He also scored in the opening day 3-0 win at Getafe, that day replacing Thomas Lemar on 62 minutes before scoring the third and final goal after Alvaro Morata's brace.

Can Antoine Griezmann afford to play less than 30 minutes per game before the World Cup?https://t.co/NgvGUHmj9y
— Football Transfers (@Transfersdotcom) August 30, 2022

"As long as Griezmann manages to respond as he has been, having him on the field is very important," said Atletico coach Diego Simeone recently. "And I understand that you have to put him on when it suits the team best."

Simeone can point to Griezmann's record this season - a goal every 41 minutes he has played is impressive after all - but this is a World Cup year for the Frenchman, who needs to be fit and firing to make Didier Deschamps' squad for Qatar in November.

Simeone's hands tied

But despite what Simeone says, his hands are tied, with Atletico trying to avoid paying Barcelona a significant fee by triggering a clause that would make his two-year loan deal permanent.

"The French attacker lives subject to the mandatory purchase clause of €40 million that complicates the agreement with his parent club," writes Mundo Deportivo's Gabriel Sans.

"And his current club [Atletico] will avoid paying it if he fails to play 45 minutes in 50 per cent of the available matches this season."

Barcelona are understood to be calm about the situation for now, with Griezmann's use unavoidable when the season gets truly underway with a three-pronged attack on La Liga, Copa del Rey and Champions League.

Atletico would like to renegotiate Griezmann's obligatory purchase clause down from €40m, but Barca also need the money, with the club continuing to pull out of a debt which stood at €1.3 billion at its height.