Madrid (AFP)
At the end of the night, even after the official closing of the transfer window, Antoine Griezmann, who had left Atlético Madrid with a bang in 2019 to join FC Barcelona, will do the opposite and return to the "Colchoneros" after a Catalan experience mixed.
The Little Prince is back home, but how complicated it was!
The new bomb of this crazy market almost hit the nail on the head ...
The three-cushion billiard shot was played after midnight, after the official close of the transfer market: Saul Niguez was loaned by Atlético Madrid to Chelsea, which freed up a place for Griezmann at the Madrilenians, for a one-season loan with an optional extra year, the two clubs said.
The agreement includes a purchase obligation at the end of the second season, estimated at 40 million euros by the Spanish media.
Third strip, "Grizou" himself has freed up a place for Sevilla striker Luuk de Jong at Barça.
Currently with the France team for the international window in September, Griezmann managed his transfer from Clairefontaine, before flying to Strasbourg on Tuesday to face Bosnia on Wednesday (8:45 p.m.) as part of the qualifications for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
This is the biggest operation of this hot last day of the summer transfer market for the Catalans, who have done everything to downsize their workforce and free up the payroll.
- Bitter at Barça -
After Luis Suarez, who left last summer to also join Atlético, after Lionel Messi, free party at Paris Saint-Germain three weeks ago, it is a third superstar who leaves Catalonia in the space of a year.
And for Griezmann, this return to Atlético has a bitter taste.
The one who is one of the most expensive transfers in the history of the club blaugrana (120 M EUR) has never shown the level he had displayed under the colors of Atlético.
In the shadow of Lionel Messi, he never found his place, and offered only brief glimpses of his talent.
Antoine Griezmann and Leo Messi, March 10, 2021 with Barcelona at Parc des Princes in Paris FRANCK FIFE AFP / Archives
He was also the direct witness of scathing routs in the Champions League, with the sinking 8-2 in the quarter-finals against Bayern Munich in the summer of 2020 then the elimination by Paris SG in the eighth of the following edition. .
In two seasons at Barça, Griezmann has won only one Copa del Rey (2021), while he lifted three trophies during his five-year stint at Atlético (2014-2019): a Spanish Supercup (2014), but above all a Europa League and a European Supercup in 2018.
- Tense reunion -
His return to the Spanish capital promises to be tense: for its premiere at the Wanda-Metropolitano, on December 1, 2019, "Grizou" had been whistled and booed at each touch of the ball, and the Rojiblancos supporters had deployed a banner "You wanted make a name for yourself, but you forgot to be a man ".
On June 14, 2018, just before winning the second star for France at the World Cup in Russia, Griezmann announced in a documentary entitled "The Decision" that he was going to stay at Atlético ... then a year later, he had refused to appear for training and ended up leaving the house "rojiblanca" after five years of service.
A turnaround experienced as a betrayal by the supporters.
Two years after the Frenchman left, however, not much has changed at Atlético, where stability reigns supreme: totem coach Diego Simeone is still there, and the Argentine still appreciates the sense of the game and of the collective sacrifice of the tricolor "Little Prince".
With this reinforcement of weight, Atlético Madrid, reigning Spanish champion, puts a final exclamation point to a well negotiated summer transfer window.
The Colchoneros will line up a formidable offensive front, between rookies Rodrigo de Paul and Matheus Cunha, the Uruguayan "gunslinger" Luis Suarez, already stolen from Barça last summer, and other big talents like Angel Correa, Joao Felix, Marcos Llorente or Yannick Carrasco.
Midfielder Antoine Griezmann, then Atlético Madrid player, in the arms of coach Diego Simeone, November 3, 2018 in Leganes OSCAR DEL POZO AFP / Archives
With Griezmann, Atlético Madrid asserts itself as a serious contender for the double in the league, or even a more than credible candidate in the Champions League.
© 2021 AFP