Barcelona plans to sue fellow La Liga side Atletico Madrid over a transfer fee involving Antoine Griezmann.
Currently, the French striker is on loan from Barcelona to Atlético for two years. However, there is a clause in the agreement that makes the transfer final, forcing the colchoneros to pay the Catalan club 40 million dollars.
The condition revolves around Griezmann’s playing time with Atlético. According to Barcelona, Griezmann playing more than 45 minutes in 30 of the 37 games available for the national team triggers the clause for a permanent transfer. On the other hand, Atlético believes that the player should play more than 45 minutes in half of the games for which he is available in both seasons, not just one.
Therefore, it is clear why Antoine Griezmann only appears as a substitute in the second half of the matches. In the five games of the 2022/23 campaign, Diego Simeone used Griezmann from the bench. Currently, he is averaging just 27.6 minutes per game. All of this in an effort to avoid paying Barcelona the $40 million fee.
Barcelona plans to file a lawsuit demanding Atletico Madrid pay them €40 million for Antoine Griezmann, sources told ESPN. pic.twitter.com/TSBBY77FuJ
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) September 9, 2022
Barcelona plans to sue Atletico Madrid
Despite the limitation of minutes, Griezmann continues to prosper. He has three goals in his steps on the field. That includes a late winner in a dramatic Champions League match against Porto in midweek.
After scoring that goal that gave Atlético the three points, the player spoke about his unusual role.
“The situation is what it is. It’s out of my hands,” Griezmann said. “Of course I want more (minutes), but I’m going to give it my all in the minutes I have. I feel like I am a man of this club. I’m happy here and I just want to play here and give everything I can to this club, both for Cholo (Simeone) and for our fans”.
Barcelona originally bought Griezmann from Atleti in 2019 for $132 million. The Frenchman, however, failed to make an impact and was sent back to the Colchoneros just two years later.
