Antoine Griezmann’s transfer value has halved since Barcelona move
Robin Bairner
- Updated: 10 Oct 2022 14:38 BST
- 3 min read
Antoine Griezmann’s transfer from Atletico Madrid to Barcelona in 2019 was a deal that the Catalan side hoped could rejuvenate them but instead it simply plunged them deeper into debt.
The World Cup winner arrived at Camp Nou for a fee of €120 million – the third biggest in the history of the club – and now president Joan Laporta has confirmed that he is set to move back to Atleti for just €20m plus potentially €4m more in bonuses.
Barcelona stand to make an eye-watering €100m loss on the player via his transfer fee alone, but it is his €36m per year wage that they truly need off their books. That is why Griezmann was pushed on loan to Atleti in 2021 on a two-year deal, following which the Catalans had hoped to recoup €40m. Diego Simeone’s side, though, have forced Barca to revise that downwards.
Illustrating Griezmann’s nightmare period in Barcelona is his FootballTransfers value.
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When he arrived at Barcelona, he was valued at €80.4 million. Although this figure was considerably less than his side paid for him, the top estimate of his value was not far below his transfer fee.
Unfortunately for Griezmann, his loss in value was thereafter precipitous and reflected his sharp fall in status. He struggled to find his niche in the Barca attack, regularly finding himself standing on the toes of Lionel Messi in particular.
Eighteen months after joining the club, he was rated as a €43m player by FootballTransfers. His value has never truly recovered and his slide a little further to its present state of €36m.
Why have Barcelona sold Griezmann under his transfer value?
Quite simply Barcelona’s financial position is such that they preferred to recoup €20m for the player rather than risk him returning at the end of the season and playing out the final year of his deal while also picking up an enormous wage.
Atletico Madrid had all the power in this game of brinkmanship and as such have signed Griezmann back for €100m less than he was sold barely three years ago.
