Atletico Madrid 'secure £17m cut-price deal with Barcelona over Antoine Griezmann transfer'

The farcical situation that has seen Antoine Griezmann be introduced after the 60 minute mark in almost every game this season looks set to come to an end.

Griezmann, 31, rejoined Atletico Madrid on a two-year loan from Barcelona last year with various clauses and agreements in place that, if met, the Madrid club would be liable to pay Barcelona a £35m fee to make the move permanent.

The key agreement in the deal related to his minutes. For the move to become permanent, Griezmann would have to play 45 minutes or more in 80 per cent of the matches for which he was available over the two year period.

Having played 45 minutes in over 80 per cent of fixtures last term, a situation appears to have developed this season where you Diego Simeone and the club have been reticent to pay Barcelona the full £35m fee and as such have been withholding Griezmann until at least the 60th minute.

Simeone, when asked about the situation in September, replied that he was a 'club man' first and foremost.

Griezmann has only started two games across all competitions this season.

With both clubs wanting to reach a conclusion to the fiasco that has been a major talking point out of La Liga this season, an agreement was reached over a fee with a deal reportedly on the brink of confirmation.

According to Fabrizio Romano, £17m is the fee agreed for the player - just about half of the original fee written into the loan agreement last year.

Despite having left Atletico Madrid for Barcelona in 2019 in a search of more consistent success, Griezmann is said to have only wanted the permanent move back to the club he originally joined in 2014 after the relative failure of his time in Catalonia.

The Frenchman, who is said to have wanted to have seen an end to this season's fiasco in part due to the World Cup in November, is Atletico Madrid's fourth highest ever scorer with 144 goals in all competitions.

France's World Cup defence begins on November 22 seeing them take on Australia.

The resolution appears to suit all parties. Griezmann's multi-million pound move to Catalonia was an unmitigated disaster essentially from the get-go, with the Frenchman rarely appearing comfortable and the fans somewhat resenting his presence in a difficult period for the club.

Barcelona risked the matter of Griezmann returning next summer at the conclusion of the two-year loan with not much of a market for a player believed to be on astronomical wages.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid retain a player who is firmly etched into the club's fabric despite the animosity of his 2019 departure.