Griezmann moves on loan to Atletico Madrid
MADRID: The transfer deadline ended with Atletico Madrid getting Antoine Griezmann back and Real Madrid failing to seal a deal for Kylian Mbappe, settling instead for young midfielder Eduardo Camavinga, a teammate of Mbappe at the French national team.
Madrid couldn’t persuade Paris Saint-germain to sell their star despite offers that reportedly surpassed 200 million euros. Griezmann, meanwhile, returned to Atletico on a loan deal from cost-cutting Barcelona in negotiations that saw
Atletico’s Saul Niguez move to Chelsea and Sevilla’s Luuk de Jong join the Catalan club.
The 30-year-old Griezmann returns to Atletico on a one-year loan with the option for another, renewable by either club. He played two seasons with Barcelona, where he never quite found his stride since joining on a fee of 120 million euros. He had played five seasons under coach Diego Simeone at Atletico.
Barcelona said Atletico will pay Griezmann’s wages, and that the deal included an obligatory permanent transfer clause for an undisclosed amount.
City rival Madrid had a frustrating end to the transfer window as it couldn’t convince PSG to sell Mbappe. PSG had confirmed last week that Madrid offered about 160 million euros for the 22-year-old forward but it didn’t think it was enough. The Spanish powerhouse reportedly increased its offer again on Tuesday but again without success reaching a deal, meaning it will likely have to wait until the end of the season to add Mbappe to its squad.
Mbappé’s contract ends next year and he will be able to move to Spain for free. Madrid couldn’t secure Mbappe but brought in the 18-year-old Camavinga from Rennes to freshen a midfield that includes veterans Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Casemiro. Camavinga, who signed a six-year contract, was in the French squad along with Mbappe in the Nations League last year. He made his debut for France’s senior team in September
last year. At 17 years and 303 days, he became the third youngest player in the history of the national team.
Barcelona, who earlier in the transfer window lost Lionel Messi to PSG because of its financial struggles, made more salary cap room by selling youngster Illaix Moriba to Leipzig and sending defender Emerson to Tottenham on a loan.
Barcelona said the deal for the 18-year-old Moriba was worth 16 million euros plus variables. The Catalan club will keep the right for 10 per cent of any future sale of the player who made 18 first-team appearances since debuting last year.