Barcelona: Pundit backs Antoine Griezmann to leave club
Barcelona have decided they’re open to selling Antoine Griezmann in the wake of their Champions League exit to Bayern Munich, reports say. The France international arrived with big hopes from Atletico Madrid in last summer’s transfer window. However, he’s struggled at the Nou Camp and could now be sold to raise funds.
Barcelona signed Griezmann from Atletico last year, convinced the France international could be the ticket to Champions League glory.
They’d actually hoped to recruit him in the summer transfer window of 2018, only to miss out.
However, Barcelona sanctioned a huge £107million deal for Griezmann because they thought he was capable of shining alongside Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez at the tip of their attack.
Yet the striker has struggled in the time since, scoring just nine La Liga goals from 35 matches as the club missed out on the title to fierce rivals Real Madrid.
Against Bayern Munich on Friday, Griezmann entered the fray from the bench having been snubbed by manager Quique Setien.
And Catalan newspaper Sport say Barcelona are open to selling the 29-year-old, just one year after his arrival.
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It’s claimed that Barcelona are actually willing to sell half of their squad to raise money for new faces, with Neymar and Eric Garcia still on their radar.
As well as Griezmann, the La Liga titans are preparing to offload Ousmane Dembele.
He himself was a big money buy, setting Barcelona back an eyewatering £135m when they signed him as Neymar’s replacement back in 2017.
But injuries have prevented him from kicking on, with the talented forward making just 74 appearances in the three years since his move to the Nou Camp.
Nelson Semedo, Jordi Alba, Gerard Pique, Jordi Alba, Luis Suarez and Sergi Roberto will be also be allowed to leave if a suitable offer arrives.
"I’m not going to talk about what is needed at the club. I've been here for just a few months.
"If Gerard Pique says that it's time for big changes there’s going to be importance to his words.
"It’s time for us to review and take the decisions which are needed for the future.
"I think that right now it’s too soon to be talking about whether I stay at the club or not.
"The reality is that it doesn't depend on me. It's worth all of us working out what's important and considering a wide range of things which correspond to a defeat of this importance and which is so painful."