Barcelona are preparing to sue Atletico Madrid over the way they are playing Antoine Griezmann. The Frenchman is on loan at the Wanda Metropolitano for the second year running, and there is an obligation to make his transfer permanent if he plays a certain number of minutes.
The clause agreed upon was that he must play over 50% of available minutes in the first season. He played for over 80% of the minutes available last year. However, Atletico believe that he must play 50% of minutes over two seasons for the obligation to kick in.
Barcelona to sue Atletico over Antoine Griezmann
The striker has been brought on in all of the games from the 60th minute, and he has established himself as a supersub this season. His latest performance off the bench came against Porto, scoring the winner in the 11th minute of injury time.
Atletico’s strategy is in a bid to avoid paying €40 million to Barcelona to make the Frenchman’s transfer permanent. Barcelona are convinced that their interpretation of Antoine Griezmann’s buy clause is correct, and they are planning legal action. However, nothing has been communicated as of yet.
“It is what it is,” Griezmann told reporters after scoring the winner in Atletico’s Champions League game against Porto on Wednesday.
“It’s not in my hands. I want to [play] more, but I will give everything in the minutes I am given. I am happy to be here, the only thing I want is to give everything for this club, for Cholo [coach Diego Simeone] and the fans.”
