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Griezmann
has it all.
He is a worker.
Humble in dealing, both with colleagues and with workers.
If he has to go to the bench, he just waits for his chance.
He does not mount circuses in front of the cameras, nor in the locker room.
He is a fantastic boy who simply came at a difficult time for the club.
An employee of the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper tries to define the contradictory reality of Antoine Griezmann in his own way.
The club's sports sources consulted by EL MUNDO are reluctant to use pejorative adjectives when referring to the French footballer, even though they are aware that his irregular performance has always kept him from any privileged position in the public debate.
Seeing himself always at the epicenter of the media dispute bothered him.
Although, now, Griezmann, more than the media, will have to attend to the movements of the new directive of
Joan Laporta
.
The new managers of Barcelona met last Friday in the Roma Room of the Camp Nou in that first ordinary meeting of the board in which the foundations of the project were laid.
Laporta distributed the main portfolios.
He awarded his most intimate collaborators,
Rafa Yuste
(first vice president and sports) and
Maria Elena Fort
(institutional vice president).
He showed that the economic rescue will be the main reason for being of his legislature in these first months.
In fact,
Eduard Romeu
, new economic vice president and
controller
embedded by the energy magnate
José Elías
, will already attend the San Sebastián game this Sunday, while
Ferran Reverter
, despite having a contract as general director with Mediamarkt Saturn until June 30 , dissected the economic cracks of the club and the solutions to be addressed.
The sports folder was not specifically opened, but the executives consulted already assume that, beyond the partial sales of the business lines of the so-called
Barça Corporate
, both sales and the reduction of the wage bill will be essential.
Carles Tusquets
, the former president of the Management Company, already admitted once his now famous 14 Apocalypse folders were handed over to the new board that sports salaries, including pending amortizations, are already around 90% of a budget of about 650 million euros .
The debt is 1,173 million euros.
And the engine with which Laporta intends to activate his second virtuous circle is
Erling Haaland
, whose hiring would never fall below 125 million euros, with a generous package of commissions to be paid to agent
Mino Raiola
.
Reality or fiction?
The role of Mateu Alemany
The meetings will now begin to take place between the main capitostes of Barcelona.
And in these, the figure of
Mateu Alemany
, a specialist in the reconfiguration of templates and who, under the supervision of Laporta - "I came here to command," warned the president in his inauguration -, and also of the new financial hawks of the club, will establish a roadmap to follow.
Koeman, to whom Laporta has assured his continuity until the end of his contract in 2022, already admitted yesterday that next week he will meet with the president to outline the team for the next season.
Management sources maintain that, among the desirable sales, that of
Philippe Coutinho
, still in the infirmary, is once again a priority.
There is confidence that the renewal of
Ousmane Dembélé
can be dealt with in the
face of the serious risk that the forward, taking advantage of the fact that his contract runs out in one year, may leave for free.
If not convinced, a sale would be sought.
Although the big decision to make has to do with Antoine Griezmann.
Either because of his salary - he occupies the second step of the locker room after
Messi
-, either because of his age -this March 21 he has turned 30-, or because he maintains his poster in Europe, still a referential footballer in the World champion France by
Didier Deschamps when we have the information
.
Three more years of contract
In Griezmann's environment, he remains calm.
The footballer still has three more years on his contract - he signed until June 30, 2023 - and he has no other plan than to continue winning the position.
In any case, any decision regarding his future should be made by himself, not by the new rectors.
Griezmann lives in a constant soccer and emotional paradox.
He is the second highest scorer for Barcelona this season (13), only behind Messi (27);
and he has also distributed 11 assists (only one less than Rosario and the same as
Jordi Alba
).
However, there are also those who remember that he just broke a streak of nine consecutive games without scoring a single goal.
Or that in his two seasons with Barcelona in the Champions League, he has only been able to score four goals in 16 games (two this year, against Dinamo Kiev and Ferencvaros in the group stage, falling to zero in the round of 16 tie against PSG).
"But Griezmann is not a player who should be judged by goals," they defend at the Ciutat Esportiva.
Something that the former managers of the club did not pay attention to when they undertook his hiring, who came to think that the Frenchman, before ending up locked in the left corner, was called to offer the relief of
Luis Suárez
as striker.
When Griezmann had always needed a reference above that would allow him to see football from the face, not from the back.
One of Griezmann's best goals since he wore the Barça shirt was scored last day against Huesca, from a position according to his characteristics.
In Koeman's new 3-4-2-1, the Frenchman feels that Messi, instead of overwhelming him, accompanies him.
It was always about that.
According to the criteria of The Trust Project
Know more
Joan Laporta
Barcelona
Catalonia
Leo Messi
Ronald Koeman
Antoine Griezmann
Huesca
Ousmane Dembélé
Europe
France
Coutinho
THE WORLD
Carmen Calvo
sports
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