Barcelona must brace themselves for fresh competition in pursuit of Antoine Griezmann, with Manchester City aiming to land the Atletico Madrid superstar.
Spanish publication Don Balon are claiming that Manchester City could play spoilsport in Barcelona’s chase for Antoine Griezmann. Pep Guardiola is already looking towards the upcoming season and has earmarked the Atletico Madrid superstar as a priority summer target.
Antoine Griezmann has, for the past half-decade, been the one player consistently racking up the numbers and going head-to-head with Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Griezmann has been the focal point in Atletico Madrid’s glorious European campaigns, but the player has often been condemned to celebrate second place, be it with Atletico Madrid or the French National Team.
The French international has finally managed to break the second place curse, beating Marseille 3-0 in the final to lift the UEFA Europa League trophy. The striker though, has been mired in speculation about his future, with the player being tipped to join Barcelona in the summer.
The Catalans are looking to add Griezmann to the attacking unit, especially with Ousmane Dembele failing to convince the Barcelona hierarchy in his maiden season at the club. Add to it, the need to end the over-reliance on Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez and one can see why Barcelona are looking to sign the Atletico Madrid gunman.
Griezmann has a €100 million release clause embedded in his Atletico contract, which makes him an easily accessible target. Barcelona knows Atletico Madrid will be powerless if they meet the buyout clause and intend to do that in the summer, with many outlets reporting that Griezmann to Barcelona is a done deal.
But, there is interest from Manchester. While Manchester United had been linked with the striker for a while, it is Manchester City that are reportedly looking to land the French international in the summer.
Pep Guardiola has already broken records in his title-winning campaign in the Premier League with Manchester City and intends to replicate the success in the upcoming season. But, the manager is aware of the uncertainty surrounding Sergio Aguero’s future while Gabriel Jesus has also refused to negotiate an extension before the World Cup.
The 27-year-old is in prime form and will be hungry for more silverware, having tasted success with Atletico Madrid this season. According to the report, Manchester City will aim to tempt Atletico Madrid and Griezmann with the lure of additional money.
City are prepared to offer more than the buyout clause to convince Atletico Madrid to let go of Griezmann while they will ensure the Frenchman becomes one of the highest paid players in world football with a pay package that is likely to be higher than what Barcelona are prepared to offer.
Griezmann’s destination was long tipped to be Manchester and he could be heading that way in the summer, albeit to the blue half.
