FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid close in on a swap-deal for Antoine Griezmann and Saul

FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid close in on a swap-deal for Antoine Griezmann and Saul

In what comes as shocking rumours for some people, the two Spanish giants FC Barcelona and Atletico Madrid are potentially looking for a swap deal between them. The players in question are Antoine Griezmann of Barcelona and Saul Niguez of Atletico Madrid.

The Blaugranas are currently undergoing a difficult financial situation at the moment and need to offload players who have a huge wage bill in order to renew their star man Lionel Messi’s contract. The club have identified Antoine Griezmann as one of the players to be offloaded this season to significantly cut down on their wage-bill. 3

FC Barcelona are looking to reduce their wage bill to accommodate Lionel Messi’s contract extension

FC Barcelona swap deal
Griezmann and Messi take up a considerable portion of the wage bill at FC Barcelona

The former Atleti star, has also failed to reach the heights he once promised to react at the Catalan club when he was signed for over 100million in 2018. The France international didn’t leave Atletico on the best of terms with their supporters but is keen to re-join Diego Simeone’s side.

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For Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone, they are currently of the view that Saul Niguez is one player who can be shown the door to, as the Spanish midfielder has fallen down the pecking order for the past couple of years. The midfielder was also linked to a move to Premier League club Liverpool but now looks to be on his way to Barcelona.

Saul Niguez in action for Atletico Madrid
Saul Niguez in action for Atletico

Saul still has five years left to run on his current Atletico deal after remarking penning terms on a nine-year contract back in 2017. He reportedly has a release clause of €150m in his current terms but his value has dropped substantially in the current economic climate.

The move for both parties looks to be one to manage the financial books and not the playing field, as Barcelona would once again make the mistake of selling a top player to their direct rival in the form of Atletico Madrid. The Catalans were already guilty of letting Luis Suarez leave for Atletico and then saw him propel Atleti to their first La Liga title in 7 years.

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