Simeone can breath easy: Griezmann set to stay at Atletico
The Frenchman has been enjoying his football this season, but his release clause was a weight over his shoulders
The drama surrounding Antoine Griezmann could be over soon. The Frenchman has been all season long under the shadow of his infamous 40 million euros clause, and which has stopped Atletico Madrid head coach Diego Simeone from using him as freely as he would've liked, but that situation could be done with now.
During the summer window of 2021, Atlético Madrid agreed to a loan deal with FC Barcerlona, the terms of which stated that if the Frenchman played at least 50% of the minutes he was available for, they must sign him from the Catalan club at a cost of 40 million euros.
Los Colchoneros, however, do not want to pay that fee, thus Diego Simeone has only been substituting Griezmann for Atlético Madrid's final 30 minutes of games in order to avoid triggering this clause, prompting Barcelona to claim the provision had already been activated last season.
Now, however, an agreement has been reached according to Spanish newspaper Mundo Deportivo. "Diego Simeone, is close to breathing easy in an issue that has worried him since the start of the season", writes the newspaper, although the situation was bound to find a solution given that the 31-year-old has stated that he wants to keep playing at the Estadio Metropolitano, and the Blaugranas do not want the star to return to Camp Nou either.
Everything points to an agreement worth close to 20 million euros, plus an additional two for bonus objectives that could be reached easily. It's a deal that works for Barça, who forego the initial 40 million euros but secure more than half, while also giving Atlético the possibility to use the player for more than 30 minutes per game that Antoine Griezmann has been getting so far.