Barcelona are reportedly preparing to take legal action against La Liga rivals Atletico Madrid over Antoine Griezmann's future.
Griezmann, 31, re-joined Atletico from Barcelona on loan in August 2021. It's believed the France international will permanently re-join Atletico at the end of the current campaign due to a clause in the deal, but only if he plays a certain number of minutes.
Griezmann has only featured from the 60th minute onwards this season and it's thought Atletico boss Diego Simeone is starting him from the bench to avoid triggering the player's €40million (£35m) transfer clause. Yet Barcelona's version of events is different.
According to Spanish newspaper SPORT, Barcelona believe Griezmann has already fulfilled his transfer clause because he played more than 50 per cent of matches last season. The forward played around 80 per cent of Atletico's games during the 2021/22 campaign.
It's claimed the number of minutes Griezmann plays this season is irrelevant - in Barcelona's eyes - with the loan lasting for just one season and not two. Barcelona are reportedly preparing a lawsuit to force Atletico to pay up in the near future.
Atletico, meanwhile, think they will only need to complete a permanent deal if Griezmann plays more than 30 minutes of football in 50 per cent of games this season.
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Griezmann joined Barcelona from Atletico for £107m in July 2019, signing a five-year deal. The huge transfer didn't go to plan, as the World Cup winner scored just 22 La Liga goals during his first two seasons at the Camp Nou, winning the Copa del Rey.
Barcelona slipped into serious financial trouble in March 2020 after the Covid pandemic halted professional football in Spain and beyond. They've said goodbye to a number of players since to save cash, including Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Philippe Coutinho.
Barcelona are keen to recuperate some of the £107m they invested in Griezmann, but Atletico's interest in the player has diminished after last season. The forward struggled during the 2021/22 campaign, scoring just eight goals in 36 appearances.
Griezmann has made a good start to this term - finding the net three times - but it's believed Atletico don't want to pay a huge fee for a player in his thirties. He was brilliant during his first five-year spell in the Spanish capital, scoring 133 goals in 257 games.
Speaking on Friday afternoon, Barcelona manager Xavi insisted Griezmann was no longer a Barcelona player. According to Mundo Deportivo, he said: "Griezmann? It's a club issue, it's none of my business. There's no debate, we think he's an Atletico player."
Simeone, meanwhile, said earlier this month (as per talkSPORT ): "You have known me for ten years now; I am a man of the club and I always will be... You have to try make them understand that playing 30 minutes well is more important than playing 60 badly."
