Barcelona reportedly have concerns Antoine Griezmann is not being named in Atletico Madrid's starting line-ups so that Diego Simeone's side can avoid paying out a mammoth £50million fee to sign the Frenchman.
Atletico have played two games so far this season and the forward has failed to start either, playing just under 30 minutes in both clashes against Villarreal and Getafe respectively. The reduced game-time has sparked fear among the Camp Nou hierarchy that their league rivals are deliberately trying to get out of paying the £50million they would owe if Griezmann features more regularly.
The contractual situation is a complex one, but broken down to its simplest form Atletico would have to pay the aforementioned figure providing Griezmann plays more than 30 minutes of football in 50 per-cent of games this season - hence the reason the France international has been introduced in the 62nd minute of both fixtures so far this term.
Griezmann left Barcelona to rejoin Atletico on a two-year loan on the last day of the transfer window last summer. During this period, his loan club have been paying the 31-year-old's wages in full. His output has failed to impress the Atleti hierarchy, who are more than happy to let him return to the Camp Nou at the end of this season.
Manager Simeone disagrees and feels like Griezmann can still play his part over the course of the campaign. However, Barcelona are not the only top Spanish club in a particularly perilous financial situation and Atletico are growing sick of footing the bill for the World Cup winner.
The current plan which appears to be in place of playing Griezmann from the 62nd mark onwards could be interpreted as a compromise between the boss and the board.
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The €60m (£50m) Atletico would have to pay Barcelona if Griezmann started to play more is a combination of the €40m (35m) Simeone's side would have to pay if the obligation clause in the striker's contract was activated on top of a further €20m (£15m) to cover the wages of his final year at the Camp Nou.
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