Barcelona put Griezmann signing on hold

Barcelona have decided to shelve their plans of signing Antoine Griezmann from Atletico Madrid for a while, according to Marca.

It appears that president Josep Maria Bartomeu, who was pushing for the signing most strongly, has become aware of risks such a transfer would pose. The first and seemingly biggest obstacle is the Frenchman’s price.

Having rejected this very move last year, Griezmann openly informed Atletico of his wish to leave Wanda Metropolitano this summer. His buyout clause has fallen from €200 million to €120 million, but the Catalans deem that figure to be too much as well. Apart from that, they are reluctant to meet the World Cup winner’s wage demands of €17 million per year.

Barcelona players, who were extremely excited about the prospect of adding Griezmann to their ranks last summer, are of a different view now. They don’t seem willing to forgive his rejection nearly as easily as Bartomeu, and that may well be another reason why the club president is having second thoughts about pursuing a deal.