Atletico Madrid president Enrique Cerezo has sparked speculation linking former star Antoine Griezmann with a return to the club.
The Frenchman left Atleti for Barcelona in the summer of 2019 and has since endured a turbulent time at Camp Nou. In the midst of Blaugrana’s financial turmoil, Griezmann has been linked to an exit as the club desperately tries to raise money.
A potential replacement for Saul Niguez or Joao Felix has been talked about, although 90 minutes recently revealed that all opportunities for such a deal had been dashed.
And now, when he spoke to Marca before a pre-season friendly, Cerezo has claimed that there have been no negotiations between the two clubs and has distanced Atletico from moving to the Frenchman.
“There are two important things, first that Griezmann is a Barcelona player right now,” said Cerezo.
“Secondly, it was a misinterpretation that I said that Griezmann’s arrival would not be right. I did not mean to say that, on the contrary:” We do not know if Griezmann will continue at Barca and I can “I do not say about millions of Atletico Madrid fans will like him coming back or not. ‘The expression was not. I do not want to say it was manipulated, but I did not want to say it.
“In all negotiations, there is always a strategy, I do not know if there is any negotiation right now,” he continued. “Gil Marín (Atletico Madrid CEO) is not aware of any negotiations either, because he would have told me.”
Uncertain times for Antoine Griezmann / Quality Sport Images / Getty Images
Despite the seemingly false speculation about Griezmann’s possible return to Atletico, Barcelona president Joan Laporta insists there is still “a market” for the future. The La Liga giants are reportedly aware of the interest in the World Cup winner, and Laporta admits that they will be open to all possible offers due to their financial condition.
“There have been some movements in the market and we can not deny that there has been interest in him. It is a sign of his quality,” said Barca president (via GOAL).
“It is not easy for a club to make an offer to a player at his level. But the transfer window has just begun and there is a market for Griezmann,” he continued. “If things start to move, we are open to all proposals because we are in a sensitive moment financially and we have to balance the books to follow the league’s financial fair play rules.”
There have been rumors of interest from Griezmann’s native France, with Paris Saint-Germain as a possible destination – especially given the uncertain future of Kylian Mbappe.
There has also been reported general interest from the Premier League. Manchester United and Chelsea have been linked with the striker, while Manchester City have ruled out a move for the Frenchman.
It will not return to Atletico Madrid for Antoine Griezmann / JACK GUEZ / Getty Images
A recently proposed solution for Griezmann’s future was to move to Serie A and Juventus. 90 minutes recently revealed that Blaugrana contacted Juve due to a potential swap agreement that would get Paulo Dybala to come and Griezmann resigns.
Another possible outcome, as reported by Sport, would be that Cristiano Ronaldo’s exit would pave the way for Griezmann’s arrival. The Portuguese superstar is another linked to Mauricio Pochettino’s PSG among the speculations surrounding Mbappe and if he were to leave, Barca are hopeful that Juventus can take Griezmann on loan with a call option.
