The striker of the France team was loaned for the second season in a row to Atlético de Madrid by Barça, when he had gone the opposite way in 2019, a transfer which had not been conclusive.
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This time, Antoine Griezmann is fully back. The French signed a new contract with Atlético de Madrid on Monday, October 10 until 2026, after being transferred definitively by Barça. The world champion striker was on loan from the Barcelona club, with a playing time clause which would have made this transfer compulsory for an amount that the Madrid team refused to align. After weeks of negotiations, here is Griezmann released, and fully in the colors that carried him to the highest international summits.
Agreement with FC Barcelona for the transfer of@AntoGriezmann. The French international has signed a new contract with our club until 2026. pic.twitter.com/TTFPFU7aKU
— Atlético de Madrid (@AtletiFR) October 10, 2022
It is also the end of a mercato soap opera and a Catalan parenthesis which turned into a bitter failure for the 31-year-old player. At the top with Atlético and with the Blues, Antoine Griezmann had left the Spanish capital to join the Blaugrana in 2019, against 120 million euros. But in the shadow of Lionel Messi, still present at FC Barcelona, and struggling to find his place in the Barça attack, he ended up finding his old colors in August 2021 for a loan with an option to buy.
After a 2021-2022 season below his standards (8 goals in 39 matches in all competitions), Griezmann seems to be regaining color in recent weeks. But he was until Monday still molested by this transfer clause which limited his playing time to half an hour per game, and therefore his influence on the Colchoneros. That time is over. It’s up to him to participate in the rebound of Atlético, fourth six points behind the leading duo FC Barcelona-Real Madrid in the league, and moribund in the Champions League (last in group B with three points in three days).