Spanish giants Atletico Madrid have finally completed a permanent deal for Antoine Griezmann, who was on loan from Barcelona after spending three years with the La Liga current leaders.
Back in the summer of 2019, Barcelona spent £103million just to acquire the services of the French winger. That signing, however, made Greizmann the symbol of Barca’s profligacy as they were hit with financial crises right after the signing, with users of top payout online casinos citing it.
The Catalonians became desperate enough to start cutting their losses and sell their players, Grieszmann was sent on loan which saw him return to Wanda Metropolitan last summer. Both parties then agreed to extend the loan for another year.
Being the cautious manager he is known to be, Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone often brings Griezmann on as a substitute to avoid activating a clause in his transfer contract.
Every party involved were frustrated by this strategy, even Simeone was the same as everybody, as it was limiting Griezmann’s appearances and at the same time limiting what he brings to the team, which could be much more.
Recently, the two clubs carried out negotiations that saw a lower fee being agreed on. This enabled the 31-year-old French winger to return to his favourite club on a contract till the summer of 2026.
Despite the little-minute appearances he’s been getting ever since his return to the club, Griezmann, with his expensive football boots, has still managed to boost Atletico’s creativity as they intend to catch up with Barcelona and Real Madrid at the top of the La Liga table.
The French international achieved breakthrough in his football career in his first spell with Atleti, as he registered 133 goals in 257 games in all competitions.
He quickly became a pivotal figure and favourite for Atletico Madrid after scoring a brace in the Europa League final back in 2018 as they defeated Marseille 3-0.
Increasing game time will help in boosting Griezmann’s hope of being included in the starting lineup for France at the World Cup next month, as the country will be looking to defend their title in the tournament, which is being backed by casino online.
Currently, Didier Deschamps has many attacking talents including Olivier Giroud, Christopher Nkunku, Karim Benzema, and Kylian Mbappe.
Other options have risen this season, but Deschamps looks to be a manager that loves to show loyalty to players that have helped in the past tournament, and Griezmann played a pivotal role in ensuring their success in Russia in the last campaign.
In other news, Cristiano Ronaldo finally scored his 700th club career goal in Manchester United’s 2-1 victory against Everton in the Premier League on Sunday. The five-time Ballon d’Or winner scored 15 minutes after he was subbed in the game to give Manchester United the lead at the break.
He scored 450 goals for Real Madrid, 101 at Juventus, five for Sporting, and 144 for the Red Devils across two spells.