Atletico are not only fielding Griezmann’s €30 million a season wage but are obliged to pay Barcelona €40 million to make his loan permanent, providing certain conditions are met.
This time it comes at a high cost, too…
You can’t go home again, or so they say, and Antoine Griezmann is finding it out first hand. Atletico Madrid swooped to bring the French forward back to the Wanda Metropolitano on transfer deadline day from Barcelona, but both club and player have changed since parting ways in the summer of 2019. Welcoming departees back is part of Atletico coach Diego Simeone’s MO, having done the same with Felipe Luis, Diego Costa and Fernando Torres, none of which panned out particularly successfully. However, the latter scored a handful of important goals. Yannick Carrasco’s return is the one success story. This time it comes at a high cost, too. Atletico are not only fielding Griezmann’s €30 million a season wage but are obliged to pay Barcelona €40 million to make his loan permanent, providing certain conditions are met.
Atletico are also unable to score while Griezmann is on the pitch
Griezmann’s homecoming has thus far fallen flat. In his first four Atletico matches, he has no goals, no assists, and no shots on target. The same was true of the three games he played for Barcelona in August before his transfer. However, at Atletico, the team has also been unable to score while he is on the pitch. Only after he was substituted on his debut did Atletico strike against Espanyol in a 2-1 win. Two goalless draws followed that and then a 2-1 win over Getafe. Again, the goals only went in after Griezmann was withdrawn. Simeone is unsure which system to use that fits Griezmann, perhaps because he arrived so late in the summer.
The champions used various formations on their way to the title last season. Still, the French striker’s significant complaint at Barcelona was that he was never used in his favoured role as a second striker.
In his previous stint at Atletico, from 2014-19, the team was built around Griezmann. That is no longer the case, with Luis Suarez the key figure. The Uruguayan, Griezmann’s former Barcelona team-mate, netted both goals late on against Getafe to keep Atletico near the top of the table after a disappointing performance south of the Spanish capital.