Despite recent events, Barça will still sign Antoine Griezmann
Oscar Grau and Miguel Ángel Gil remain locked in conversations as both clubs want a transfer to happen
FC Barcelona and Antoine Griezmann were surprised by the harsh statement released by Atletico Madrid following Josep Maria Bartomeu's comments on a potential transfer deal.
Avoid paying the buyout clause
Barça's proposal was to offer the full €120m but in fixed instalments, something which is becoming more common across the world of football. What isn't known is whether a player was offered in exchange to bring down the cost of the deal. Atletico's interest in Nelson Semedo is no secret.
The statement from Atletico suggests Barça must now pay the €120m upfront and in one large payment. However, the club hasn't given up the idea of finding a more suitable solution for all parties. Nobody wants this situation to drag on all summer.
A potential middle-ground option for Barça is to pay a little more than €120m, just as Atletico did with Joao Felix. Benfica agreed to split the payments if Atleti offered to pay slightly over the clause. Barça could offer a similar deal so Atletico could have the payments for Griezmann come in at the same time that they are due to pay their next instalment for Felix.
Looking for money
If Barcelona are able to avoid paying €120m all at once, it would allow them breathing space to make other transfers this summer. If Atletico turned down that proposal, Barça would need to find the money from elsewhere. This could be a new loan, which would increase the interest currently being paid. But a more likely option would be to sell a key member of the first-team squad to offset the loss.
Griezmann is angry
After what's happened in the last couple of days, Griezmann is extremely upset with Atletico Madrid. He feels he did everything the club asked of him. He told the club he would leave ahead of time so they could plan for next season's squad. 'MARCA' reported yesterday that Griezmann has no intention of joining up for preseason training with Diego Simeone. This is because he feels everyone wants the same conclusion, it would be an unnecessary move.
Atletico have already handed Griezmann's number '7' shirt to Joao Felix so they are clearly planning for life without the French forward.
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