Lawsuit avoided?
This article first appeared on Sep. 9 and has been updated with new information.
Antoine Griezmann’s transfer saga appears to have come to an end. The 31-year-old Atlético Madrid star was in danger of being embroiled in a lawsuit, which was supposed to clear up the complicated loan contract that Barcelona and Atleti agreed on last summer. L’Equipe reported on Wednesday that both clubs could announce a resolution as early as this week.
In September, Mundo Deportivo reported that Barcelona are preparing a lawsuit that is supposed to prove that the obligations buy option in Griezmann’s loan contract has already been triggered and that the 31-year-old is now a permanent Atlético Madrid player. The background was a clause that would force Atleti to make the deal permanent for €40 million if he featured at least 45 minutes in 50% of the games he was available in.
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This was certainly the case during the first season. Griezmann played 35 games for the Rojiblancos, in which he scored eight goals and seven assists. Because of those appearances, his loan was automatically extended by one more season and opened the door for two different interpretations of the buy-option in his contract. It now appears that both clubs found a solution.
Relevo and Marca reported on Wednesday that Griezmann will return permanently for just €20m plus add-ons that are somewhere between €2m and €8m. Barcelona were previously convinced that his appearances last season were enough to trigger the buy-option, Atlético, in the meantime, believed that the 50% had to be spread over both seasons Griezmann is on loan at the club. As a result, Griezmann was brought off the bench in the first five games of the season, playing 28, 28, 26, 27, and 29 minutes. Head coach Diego Simeone did not want to confirm that his selection process was part of a club directive but also did not deny it. “I am a man of the club and always will be,” Simeone said.
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Griezmann, too, was a man of the club for five years before he opted to force a transfer to Barcelona in 2019—the €120 million fee made him one of the ten most expensive players in history. The Catalans, however, were unable to stem the fee and the large salary, and Griezmann struggled to reach the form that made him one of the best players in the world while at Atleti.
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