In the most shocking transfer of the deadline day, Antoine Griezmann has returned to Atletico Madrid on an initial loan deal till June 2022 with the obligation to buy.
This means that the Rojiblancos will have to make the player’s transfer permanent next year, and the price tag is set at €40 million. Griezmann was linked with a return to Atletico Madrid earlier in the transfer window with wantaway midfielder Saul Niguez being rumoured to be involved in a swap deal. However, the talks fell through and Saul ended up joining Chelsea on deadline day.
Griezmann previously stated that he would leave Barcelona only for Atletico Madrid, and his former club have now managed to negotiate a deal to get him back at the club. Barcelona were concerned about his massive wages hindering the financial stability of the team, so much so that Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba had to take a pay cut for Sergio Aguero to be registered.
With Griezmann now off the books, and a loan fee potentially on the cards, Barcelona have signed Luuk De Jong from Sevilla as the replacement for the player. The Dutchman features as a number 9, and will certainly provide competition to Martin Braithwaite and Sergio Aguero for game time.
De Jong made the move from PSV to Sevilla in 2019, for €12.5 million and won the Europa League with them. According to the official club statement, the striker has been signed on a loan deal for one year with the option to make the switch permanent.
Both transfers have come out of nowhere, and this marks and end to arguably the craziest transfer window in the history of the sport.
