Barcelona Reconsider Antoine Griezmann Deal After 'Apology' Issued for Rejecting Move Last Summer
Antoine Griezmann's entourage sent a message to Barcelona reigniting the old transfer saga before Atletico Madrid's dramatic Champions League exit at the hands Juventus.
The 27-year-old Atletico forward famously spurned Barcelona's advances to remain in the Spanish capital last summer, after a very public saga that culminated in a televised announcement programme from Griezmann (and produced by Gerard Pique) entitled 'La Decisión'.
Griezmann then signed a new contract extension the Wanda Metropolitano, seemingly putting an end to the speculation.
FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/GettyImages
However, in recent weeks the prospect of a Griezmann transfer has flared up again with rumours that the World Cup winner is unhappy at Atletico and is considering his future anew.
Previous reports claimed that Griezmann had offered himself to Europe's elite, but Barça still smarting from last summer's public rejection had moved on and were not considering a bid.
That may have changed now however as Mundo Deportivo claim that the player still 'dreams' of Barcelona, while his entourage sent signals to Camp Nou apologising for last year's snub and making it clear that he wants a move now. Interestingly, the supposed olive branch supposedly came before Atleti were knocked out of the Champions League on 12 March.
As a result, Barça are not ruling out a summer transfer for Griezmann and, as MD puts it in a separate report, have him on 'standby'.
In theory, Barcelona would prefer a younger, cheaper striker this summer who can act as backup and eventual successor to Luis Suarez. Luka Jovic (Eintracht Frankfurt), Andre Silva (Sevilla) and Maxi Gomez (Celta Vigo) have all been linked with some regularity. Still, MD note that Ernesto Valverde was 'crazy' about Griezmann last year, while the Catalans know they can land him without resistance by activating the €120m release clause - barring another embarrassing U-turn from the player.
Griezmann has scored 12 goals in 28 La Liga games this season, and over 100 in total in Spain's top flight since his debut in 2010. Interestingly, however, both major Catalan newspapers MD and Sport (via SportWitness) got a result of 91% 'against', when polling fans on the idea of a signing Griezmann for Barcelona, highlighting the depth of ill-feeling following the summer's debacle.
