Barcelona intend to hold on to the World Cup winner.
Much like the high-profile signings Barcelona have made the past few seasons, Antoine Griezmann has not had the impact that many expected.
He started off the season relatively well but has seemingly lost the confidence of Quique Setien with the Frenchman coming off the bench in the team’s last three matches. This all came to a head in their last match against Atletico Madrid where Griezmann was subbed on in the 90th minute with four minutes of stoppage time left to play.
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This latest benching has many questioning as to whether Griezmann has any future with the club going forward.
According to Mundo Deportivo, there is interest in the Frenchman from the likes of Manchester United and Manchester City. It’s difficult to see where he would fit at United whereas City could see him as a short-term replacement for Leroy Sane who is set to join Bayern Munich next season.
However, Barcelona have no plans on selling him and will continue to bet on him. In fact, even some higher-ups at the club are disappointed in how he’s been treated by the manager. One anonymous club executive said,
"“Unfortunately, Antoine came to Barcelona with a dream and the reality is that his dream is not being fulfilled. But he is a kid so exception that he does not complain. You’ve seen it, not one disgruntled face, not one bad gesture…”Source: Mundo Deportivo"
To his credit, Griezmann has not publicly showed his frustration with his current situation which is not something that can be said about his family. He even posted a photo on his Twitter account with his wife where they are both laughing.
— Antoine Griezmann (@AntoGriezmann) July 1, 2020
Barcelona cannot afford to move him on after one season.
City and United are not the only clubs interested in Griezmann. According to Sport, PSG are also rumored to be interested but because the transfer window in France is going to be one of the first ones to close, if they are serious about signing him then they are going to have to make a move soon.
Despite the rumors, the thing is that the Catalans cannot afford to sell him as it would be admitting to yet another expensive mistake.
Philippe Coutinho and Ousmane Dembele were expensive Neymar replacements with the Brazilian on loan at Bayern and with one foot out the door and the Frenchman spending the majority of his Barcelona career out injured.
The failures, or at the very least not living up to expectations, of these two means that they have to try to make the Griezmann signing work and it could very well still work. But the club need a complete revamp and that is unlikely to happen with the current board.