BARCELONA should not sign Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann this year – and should probably make clear right away that they have no intention of getting caught up in any such speculation over the coming months.
The idea of Griezmann potentially moving to Barca has been resurrected in recent days, especially since Atletico’s season-ending Champions League exit to Juventus, with ESPN claiming that the 28-year-old had “offered himself” to the Camp Nou club.
Griezmann’s future, of course, was the subject for last summer’s most drawn out transfer saga, with the France international eventually announcing via a TV documentary that he was turning down Barca’s advances to stay at Atletico.
Antoine Griezmann is looking for a way out of Atletico Madrid, sources have told ESPN FC. pic.twitter.com/hRh4BnhpBf
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) March 17, 2019
This ‘decision’ was all very embarrassing for the Barca board, especially club president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who had got very publicly involved in the attempt to persuade Griezmann to move to the La Liga champions.
That the documentary was produced by a company owned by blaugrana defender Gerard Pique, yet many at the Catalan club only learned about the failure of the attempt to land their biggest summer transfer target, only added to the feeling that Bartomeu and his colleagues had been duped.
Atletico’s poor 2018/19 means that speculation will now likely to ramp up again over Griezmann’s future – with the latest reporting claiming that he would consider offers from Barca and “a number of other top European clubs”.
Apart from the hurt feelings of those in the positions of power at the Camp Nou, there are other more solid reasons why Barca should politely decline to get involved in any public or private bargaining this time around.
Antoine Griezmann is being linked to Barcelona once again after announcing in a documentary last summer that he would remain at Atletico…
But would he be a good fit with Barca if he were to move? pic.twitter.com/DgOUACSErE
— Goal (@goal) March 18, 2019
The first is purely financial. Griezmann and his camp were able to leverage Barca’s interest last summer into a bumper contract at Atletico, where he now earns €24 million a year – a salary which may have contributed to some angst within the rojiblanco dressing room this season.
Even though Griezmann is reportedly willing to take a pay-cut to join a bigger club, anything close to that figure would upset an already tottering salary scale at the Camp Nou. Only blaugrana talisman Lionel Messi earns more at Barca, while the last 12 months have seen senior figures Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets all agree new long term deals at rates thought to be considerably lower.
It is already quite likely that the summer will bring more familiar wheeling and dealing at Barca, with Ajax midfielder Frenkie De Jong’s arrival meaning some current big earners might have to be moved on, and midfielder Ivan Rakitic among the key first team members that the board would reportedly like to get rid of. So adding another huge earner close to 30 does not sound too clever.
5 – Five midfielders with the most passes forward on the opposition half this Champions League campaign:
158 – Toni Kroos,
134 – Frenkie de Jong,
126 – Axel Witsel,
117 – Marco Verratti,
116 – Ivan Rakitic.
Progressed. pic.twitter.com/F3ND4xQizw— OptaJohan (@OptaJohan) March 14, 2019
Even if money were no object, where Griezmann would fit into Ernesto Valverde’s current Barca side is also difficult to say. The former Real Sociedad winger has evolved his game through recent seasons to become most effective as a roaming, deep-lying forward, very involved in midfield play both on and off the ball, rather than being a penalty box predator.
That profile is already well covered at the Camp Nou. Messi’s latest wondershow – the sublime hat-trick at Real Betis on Sunday evening – has underlined how the 31-year-old is still operating at the very top of his [super] powers. Neither Griezmann nor anybody else can come close to that level. How he and Messi would fit together in one team was never really clear even last summer, and 12 months on it appears even more problematic.
Barca do need a long term replacement for their current number nine Luis Suarez, 32 now and very battle-scarred. A much younger specialist target man and goalscorer looks like the best option here, someone who could perhaps understudy Suarez at first while gradually taking over in the first team. Eintracht Frankfurt's Luka Jovic, 21, is the latest name to feature highly in the Catalan sports papers, and on current form that seems to make quite a lot of sense.
— Raphael Honigstein (@honigstein) 28 February 2019
Plus, Barca already have their own French attacking star in Ousmane Dembele, who has progressed significantly this season. Dembele's pace and directness are an ideal complement to Messi on the other side of the attack, and the pair really do seem have built a respect and understanding this term.
None of this is to say that Griezmann is not still among the best players around. Even if his showing in last week’s crushing UCL exit at Juve was a huge disappointment [to him as much as anyone], his form was superb in early 2019 as he scored 10 goals in 11 games.
At a reported price of €120m this summer, he could be a bargain for many clubs – including most of the Premier League’s top six. But not for Barca – who should heed their lesson from last season and stay well clear.
