Antoine Griezmann is in line to inherit Philippe Coutinho's number seven shirt at Barcelona, according to reports from Spain.
The Catalan giants parted with £108million - the price of Griezmann's release clause post July 1 - to sign the France international.
Griezmann wears the number seven shirt for his country and also wore it during his Atletico Madrid days. But Coutinho wears the same shirt number at Barcelona , which is set to cause a problem.
Ordinarily Griezmann would be told to pick another number, but the World Cup winner is set to lead Barcelona's line next season.
Coutinho on the other hand has fallen down the pecking order at the Nou Camp, and Spanish publication AS is reporting he could lose his squad number as a result.
Barcelona announced the signing of Griezmann on social media on Friday.
Atletico Madrid instantly responded with a statement claiming they are owed money from they sale due to Barcelona and Griezmann agreeing on a transfer prior to the cost of his release clause being slashed.
rioelrtyz
363
Take the number 6 from Todibo, give it to Arthur then Take Arthur's number 8, give it to Coutinho and take Coutinho's number 7 and give it to Griezmann. problem solved.
itsbetter
203
REWARD FOR LOYALTY Football is a cruel sport but coaches and the management of football clubs make it even more cruel. Some players are caught in the whole transfer fiasco as a result of unrealistic expectations, fantasies and pipe dreams, whichever you call it, at the expense of players who have given a lot and deserve to be honoured. To put this into perspective, let's take a look at the events which led Dembele and Coutinho to Barcelona. They both forced the hands of their respective teams to let them make mega moves to the Catalan giants. If they weren't convinced by the history of success of the club, I bet the sporting director and negotiators bought them over, by telling them what important roles they were going to have in the team. Two seasons ago, everything seemed straightforward for both players, as Dembele was to fill the gap which Neymar vacated and Coutinho was to relieve the ageing 'puppet master' Andres Iniesta, until he would finally replace him. Both players earned insults from their fans and their clubs labeled them as 'unprofessional' for missing training in an attempt to force a move to Barcelona. The only ones happy from this whole drama was the Barcelona board and its fans because they would go on to get their transfer targets. Dembele was given the number 11 jersey which was abandoned by Neymar, and Coutinho's number was changed from 14 to 7, after Griezman who the number was reserved for, decided to turn down the transfer attempts of Barcelona, in a show of disrespect to the club and its fans. Fast-forward to now, the Barcelona board is planning to offload Dembele and Coutinho to make space for two players who showed disloyalty and unprofessionalism when Barcelona needed them most. It seems like Dembele and Coutinho would lose their jersey numbers to Neymar and Griezman respectively. This goes to show that this present Barcelona leadership doesn't reward loyalty. This means anyone can eat their cake and have it back. #Reward4Loyalty
Hassanawanzi
71
this really pains me though it's non of my business because I'm not a barca fan .but to that it's really undermining someone .Jersey numbers really matters a lot to players .Barcelona should give countinho another chance .I feel this has a lot yet to give to Barcelona .
Juli funky
64
coutinho can still go back to his No.14 he has before, then No.7 to the new born baby Antonio Griezmann, as for malcon take another No. or sand him on a loan because there's no room for him at this moment till when Denis suaze leaves coz Denis suarez is going down by age 32, even Messi 33 Antonio Griezmann 27 Neymar 27.so I think it could be best options for Barcelona to sand Malcom on a loan than selling him just because of lack of space even Dembele should not be sale rather on a same loan too because they will be useful to baca in future after those of 32,33, 31 won't be there. This is my own contribution. welcome to Barcelona
Rihaoruyz
62
This is just a rumor. It's almost impossible for Coutinho to give out his number 7 jersey to Griezman. Who's Griezman, that Coutinho would make way for on his number.
okevictor
59
coutinho should talk his 14 back and Malcom should talk the number 26 he once wore for pre season last season
SunnyGill
58
please took no.7 from coutinho he need his no. 14 back again to do his best again
strikeforce
58
poor Coutinho..he was in a rush to leave liverpool while klopp begged him to stay until the summer..where is his family members who where talking bad about Liverpool..he didn't learn from Torres who became a flop after leaving liverpool..he should have left like Suarez who left in good faith with the club and fans.
ezra_wahome
40
Good signing for Barcelona...all the success to Griezman 💯🔥 What I'm not sure is where Coutinho fits into the starting XI with Griezman now here cause the midfield seems already occupied to me as it is🤷🏽♂️