today 12:00 | Barcelona made him the fifth most expensive footballer in history for an incredible 120 million euros in the summer of 2019. Antoine Griezmann came to fill the gap after Neymar, who was previously unable to be replaced by Ousmane Dembélé or Coutinho. The Spanish media often wrote about him as the only player in Simeone’s Atlético Madrid who can attack. In Barcelona, he should have fully blossomed alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. Twice third in the Ballon d’Or poll, he did not even achieve the performance of Atlético in two years, and Barcelona sent him back to the Spanish capital. Griezmann returned on a one-year loan with the option to extend for another year. And with the option that if he plays at least 45 minutes in 50% of the matches, the loan will automatically become a transfer and Atlético will pay Barcelona 40 million. The 2018 world champion played at least 45 minutes in 81% of the games in which he was available last season. He appeared regularly in the starting line-up, but scored only three goals in 26 league matches and significantly fell short of expectations. Despite this, Atlético extended the loan for another year, but it is said that they were calculating. According to the Spanish media, he does not want to pay tens of millions for a player who is only a shadow of the offensive virtuoso from his first time in Madrid. In addition, at the time of possible exercise of the option, he will already be 32 years old. Not to mention the salary burden of being one of the highest paid footballers in Spain. At the beginning of the new season, Griezmann played twice for 29 minutes and once for 27 minutes. The occupancy rate is starting to drop and Barcelona is moving away from 40 million. According to the Spanish sport.es, Diego Simeone uses him on purpose at the initiative of the management. The Argentinian coach dismissed it after the game in Valencia: “While he has the contribution he has, it is very important to have him on the pitch. I put him on when it’s best for the team.” Griezmann has already scored two goals as a joker, the winner in Valencia. It will be interesting to see if the trend of deploying the French striker will continue. VIDEO: A return to the time when Antoine Griezmann was unstoppable: If yes and Atlético and Barcelona do not agree to reduce the transfer fee, everyone loses. Until the end of the season, Atlético can pay hundreds of thousands a week to a player who will only be used for short periods of matches. Barcelona will lose 40 million, and the unwanted Griezmann will burden its salary budget again after the season (he has a contract until the summer of 2024). And a player who is still in the best years of a football player’s life and in the case of a successful restart could have several more seasons at the highest level ahead of him. In addition, Griezmann is asking for minutes to get nominated for the 2022 World Cup, where the French are expected to defend their title.