Antoine Griezmann is preparing for a surprising deadline day to return to Atletico Madrid after agreeing a deal with Barcelona to renew the French striker.
to me sky in italy, The two La Liga rivals reached an agreement on Tuesday evening for the 2018 World Cup winner to return to the Wanda Metropolitano on a season-long loan with a commitment to buy 34.4 million pounds (40 million euros) next year.
Atleti were able to make a move for the 30-year-old after Saul Niguez’s potential departure to Chelsea was penalized on an initial loan with an option to buy worth 33.5 million pounds (39 million euros).
Diego Simeone is passionate about the new striker and the Frenchman will have no problem settling in as he already worked under the Argentine between 2014 and 2019.
Both clubs only have a few hours to complete their work as the Spain window closes at 11pm UK time.
Barcelona are already looking for a potential replacement in the event of a move, with Sevilla’s Luc de Jong on the radar.
The Catalan giants were looking to ease their wage bill this summer due to debts of up to £1.15 billion, club president Joan Laporta confirmed in early August.
The club’s financial difficulties led to his inability to offer Lionel Messi a new contract, which led to his sudden exit from Paris Saint-Germain on a free transfer.
The club announced, on Tuesday, that its players Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba have agreed to cut their salaries to help the club’s financial fair play standards and ensure that new player Sergio Aguero can be officially registered in the Spanish Football League.
Earlier this summer, Gerard Pique made a similar decision to allow Memphis Depay and Eric Garcia to be certified as Barcelona players.
Griezmann originally left Atletico for Barcelona in 2019 after a long string of transfers after paying the £103m (€120m) buyout clause in full.
A year ago, he appeared in a documentary with Spanish radio movestar He called it the “decision” that followed because he chose to stay at Atletico despite Barcelona’s interest.
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Time is running out for clubs to do business – the summer transfer window closes at 11pm in England and midnight in Scotland on Tuesday 31 August and you can catch all the drama on Deadline Day with Sky Sports.
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